By Amy Taxin, Ken Ritter and Deepa Bharath
Associated Press
Billy Chang, a 67-year-old Taiwanese pastor who survived the May 15 shooting at Geneva’s Presbyterian church, was emotional as he spoke at a May 16 prayer vigil. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — A gunman motivated by political hatred of Taiwan chained the door of a California church, hid Molotov cocktails inside, and charged mostly Taiwanese parish elders. The rally opened fire, killing a man who clashed with him and potentially saving dozens of people, authorities said.
David Chou, 68 (Orange County Sheriff’s Department)
On May 14, David Chou, 68, from Las Vegas, who authorities say is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Taiwan, drove to Orange County. The next day, he attended a luncheon held by the Irvine Taiwan Presbyterian Church at the Geneva Presbyterian Church. Laguna Forest Community. Although he didn’t know anyone there, he spent about an hour mingling with about 40 attendees before executing his conspiracy, authorities said at a news conference.
Zhou locked the door with a chain and put superglue in the keyhole, authorities said. He has two 9mm pistols — legally purchased in Las Vegas a few years ago — and three bags that include four Molotov cocktail-type incendiaries and extra ammo. He opened fire, and in the ensuing chaos, Dr. John Cheng, 52, grabbed him, had other parishioners subdue him and tied him up with extension cords.
Cheng died with five injured, the oldest at 92. Sheriff Don Barnes called Cheng’s heroism a “meeting of good and evil” that may have saved “dozens of lives”.
Zhou, who worked as a security guard for years, was jailed on $1 million bail on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. A federal hate crime investigation is also underway.
There’s no direct word on why Chou chose to target churches in Laguna Forest, a scenic, affluent coastal area with a largely retiree population.
Barnes said the motive for the shooting was Zhou’s hatred of Taiwan, which was documented in handwritten notes discovered by authorities. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Zhou’s family was apparently one of many who were forcibly relocated from mainland China to Taiwan sometime after 1948.
The Presbyterian Church is the most prominent Christian denomination in Taiwan, closely related to the pro-democracy movement during the martial law period, and later to the cause of Taiwan independence.
Barnes said Zhou was an immigrant from China, but Taiwan’s Central News Agency said it interviewed Louis Huang, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, who confirmed that Zhou was born in Taiwan in 1953.
Barnes said Zhou acted alone and “is not believed to be affiliated with any particular church or any religion, and has no direct connection to the church or any member of the church that we know of,” Barnes said.
Former neighbor Balmore Orellana said Zhou’s life was shattered after his wife left him last year. Orellana told The Associated Press that previously, Chou had been a delightful man who owned the Las Vegas apartment building where he lived until his eviction in February.
More recently, his mental health has declined, and last summer someone shot at Chou’s apartment and bullets entered Orellana’s apartment, though no one was injured, Orellana said.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have reached their highest level in decades, with Beijing stepping up military harassment by flying fighter jets to the self-governing island. China has not ruled out using force to unify Taiwan, which was divided from the mainland during the 1949 civil war.
Xiao Biqian, Taiwan’s chief representative to the United States, tweeted his condolences to the families of the shooting.
“My grief goes out with the families of the victims and the Taiwanese-American community, and my prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured survivors,” Xiao wrote.
Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu told The Associated Press by email that the Chinese government “has consistently condemned the violence. We express our condolences to the victims and our sincere sympathy to the families of the deceased and the injured.”
The sheriff’s department said the shooting wounded included an 86-year-old woman and four men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92. Authorities said on May 16 that two of the wounded were in good condition, two were in stable condition, and the condition of the fifth was unknown.
Jerry Chen, a longtime member of the church, said about 40 members of the congregation gathered in the fellowship hall for lunch after the morning service to welcome their former pastor, Billy Chang, a beloved and respected community member who had served the church. 20 years. Chang moved back to Taiwan two years ago. Chen said it was his first time back in the United States.
After everyone had just finished lunch, they were taking a photo with Zhang when Chen walked into the kitchen. Just then, he heard gunshots.
Cheng, a sports medicine doctor who survived with his wife and two children, charged at the shooter and tried to disarm him and let others intervene, Barnes said. Zhang hit the gunman in the head with a chair before other parishioners could subdue him.
“I’ll tell you there’s evil in that church,” Spitzer said, adding that Zhou had “absolute prejudice” against Taiwan and its people.
