Orange County Church Shooting Called Chinese vs. Taiwanese Hate Crime
According to Times of San Diego, authorities said on Monday that the man who allegedly killed a doctor and seriously hurt 5 others at a Taiwanese church in California was a U.S. citizen born in China who despised Taiwan and decided to drive from Las Vegas armed with weapons, chains, and countless Molotov cocktails.
According to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, David Chou, 68, reportedly shackled shut the doors to a luncheon honoring a former pastor of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church and started shooting at parishioners.
Barnes stated that the violent assault on the Geneva Presbyterian Church in the Laguna Woods retirement neighborhood on Sunday afternoon was driven by Chou’s resentment of Taiwan and current disputes between Taiwan and mainland China.
“This is a manifestation of the ugliest part of our humanity that exists in our country today,” Barnes said during a press conference on Monday, referring to the weekend’s racially charged mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
The FBI announced the launch of a hate crime investigation into the case.
Dr. John Cheng, 52, of Aliso Viejo’s South Bay Medical Group, was shot dead when he charged the shooter and tried to subdue him, according to Barnes. Cheng’s wife and two children survive him.
“Dr. Cheng is a hero in this incident,” Barnes said, adding that the doctor’s decision allowed other church members to apprehend and ultimately hogtie the accused.
“Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, there is no doubt there would be additional victims in this crime,” Barnes said.
Four incendiary devices, comparable to Molotov cocktails, were positioned inside the church, according to Barnes, and investigators discovered bags of extra ammunition.
According to the sheriff, investigators discovered that the shooting was an isolated occurrence carried out purely by the suspect.
The mass shooting also injured four other men of Asian descent ranging in age from 66 to 92, as well as an 86-year-old woman of Asian descent. Their identities have not yet been revealed.
