By AMY TAXIN AND STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The man accused of firing on a Southern California church over political hatred of Taiwan called himself a “devastating” angel in a seven-volume diary he sent to a newspaper before the attack. The May 18 newspaper said.
David Chou, 68, paid $16.10 to mail seven thick photocopies of handwritten Chinese text and a flash drive to the World Journal office in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, according to photos published in Chinese-language newspapers.
The pages were titled: “Diary of an Angel of Destruction of Independence,” an apparent reference to Taiwan’s autonomy, the paper said. The Chinese Communist Party continues to demand the reunification of Taiwan with China.
The diary pages were received in the Daily Mail on May 17, a day after authorities said Zhou had shot at a lunch meeting of senior parishioners at the Irvine Taiwan Presbyterian Church in the Laguna Woods neighborhood.
The newspaper did not report on the contents of the diaries, and apparently no one read them before sending them to police through the newspaper’s lawyers, said an employee who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
However, the newspaper’s attorney told the Orange County Chronicle that the documents were handed to him on May 17 and that he still holds them.
West Covina’s attorney Maxwell Lin said he will share the documents with law enforcement when he receives a subpoena.
“We have no intention of hiding anything,” Lim told The Register.
Lin could not confirm the headline of the report.
“The document will speak for itself, but what to call it is up to the reporter’s interpretation,” said Lin, who did not read the document in its entirety.
“Time will tell how important the documents are,” Lim told The Register.
Investigators were aware of reports the journals were sent to the paper, according to Orange County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Braun.
One person was killed and five others were injured in the shooting. If convicted of murder and attempted murder, Zhou could face life in prison or the death penalty. He has yet to plead guilty and was jailed in Orange County without bail pending a June 10 arraignment.
County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Zhou Enlai, born out of hatred for Taiwan, was born after his family was forced to leave mainland China when the Communist Party won the civil war that ended in 1949. . He apparently chose the church at random, and authorities say he knew anyone there before he drove from Las Vegas to California the day before the shooting.
Authorities said Zhou attended a church service before attending a luncheon for a former pastor, where he mingled with parishioners for about 40 minutes before chaining and nailing the closed exit door and opening fire.
When gunfire rang out, Dr. John Cheng, 52, charged at Chou and was shot dead, but authorities say he sabotaged the attack and may have saved dozens of lives.
Former pastor Billy Chang picked up a chair and threw it at Chou, who fell to the ground. Chang said he rushed towards Chou, who was held down and tied up by several members of the congregation.
In the church hall where the lunch was held, Zhou was armed with two legally purchased 9mm pistols and a stash of ammunition and four Molotov cocktail-style devices, authorities said.
The wounded, ranging in age from 66 to 92, are expected to survive.
The shooting shook Taiwanese communities in Southern California.
“I’m starting to worry about our people,” Taiwan leader Dr. Simon Lin
The Los Angeles Center Foundation said in a news release. “Taiwan Center is very friendly. It is open to the public. We never check your background.”
He added that the small community center lacked the budget to hire full-time security guards.
Louis M. Huang, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, said he was confident that U.S. law enforcement would investigate and justice would be served.
He called on Taiwanese-Americans to respect differences of opinion, but said no one has the right to violate another’s rights or take another’s life.
He urged community members to report to the police if they saw something about them.
“Don’t keep silent,” he said.
