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1 dead, 5 injured, man arrested in shooting at California Asian church reception

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  2 years ago  •  23 comments

By:   Andrew Blankstein, Jonathan Dienst and Dennis Romero

1 dead, 5 injured, man arrested in shooting at California Asian church reception
One person was killed and five other people were injured in a shooting at a meeting of Asian churchgoers in Southern California on Sunday, authorities said.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



One person was killed and five other people were injured in a shooting at a meeting of Asian churchgoers in Southern California on Sunday, authorities said.

Members of the congregation detained a suspect who appeared to be in his 60s by hogtying him with electrical extension cords, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said at an earlier press conference that congregants confiscated at least two handguns that were later seized by deputies.

The department Sunday night announced the man has been formally arrested in connection with the deadly attack. His name will be released when he's booked into jail, it said in a statement.

Amid fears of another possible hate crime, the man in custody was described by law enforcement sources as also being of Asian descent. The description was later confirmed by Hallock.

Gunfire was reported at Geneva Presbyterian Church at 1:26 p.m. in the retirement city of Laguna Woods, about 20 miles southeast of Anaheim, the sheriff's department said. Four victims suffered critical injuries, it said.

Sunday night the department identified the injured as Asian Americans ranging in age from 66 to 92. Four are men. The identity of the deceased was being withheld pending notification of loved ones.

The victim's body was discovered at the scene, sheriff's officials said. All of the surviving victims, including a person with minor injuries, were hospitalized.

Sheriff's officials said as many as 40 people who belong to a Taiwanese church were at the facility when gunfire broke out.

Police sources who described the suspect as Asian stressed that the investigation was in its very preliminary stages and that they have not determined any motive.

Hallock acknowledged concerns over rising hate crime but urged people to await more information as the inquiry continued Sunday night.

He praised the quick actions of the congregation.

"They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities," Hallock said. "It appears that one or more of the congregants did act quite heroically."

Investigators were still trying to determine where the man in custody resides and whether he has any relationship to the congregation or the facility. "No information on age or date of birth," Hallock said.

It does not appear that anyone else is wanted, the sources said earlier. Detectives hope serial numbers on the firearms might help them find out more about the suspect, officials said.

Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, a name that refers to a nearby city, was scheduled to meet at the facility at 10 a.m., according to its website.

Tom Cramer, a co-executive at a network of Orange County Presbyterian churches, the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, said the violence took place during a luncheon honoring a former pastor of the Taiwanese congregation.

The organization "is deeply saddened by a fatal shooting that occurred at a lunch reception," he said in a statement. "Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for the those traumatized by this shooting."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said agents based in Los Angeles were assisting sheriff's investigators. The FBI also responded and is contributing to the investigation, the sheriff's department said Sunday night.

Laguna Woods and Laguna Woods Village are relatively exclusive communities for people 55 and older and their companions or loved ones. Large parts of it, including the village, are gated.

The city is composed of single-family homes, town houses and apartment-style residences. It opened as Leisure World in 1964. It became the county's 32nd city in 1999.

Authorities asked people to avoid the area, noting that multiple roads were closed.

On Friday police in Dallas said they were looking for a person who might be targeting people of Asian background in a series of shootings. The last of three such attacks injured three women from South Korea, officials said.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia said the department's inquiry was a hate crime investigation. Attacks against Asian Americans have skyrocketed in recent years.


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Waykwabu
Freshman Silent
1  Waykwabu    2 years ago

At the risk of being labelled a "know all" I repeat my reference to Australia's worst mass shooting n 1996, and the subsequent federal and state governments immediate response.  Whilst we still have illegal weapons and criminal activities in the community, it doesn't come within cooee of USA incidents.

Refer para on "Community and Government response"  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_(Australia)#Community_and_government_reaction

 
 
 
shona1
PhD Quiet
1.1  shona1  replied to  Waykwabu @1    2 years ago

Evening Way...yep remember that day like y'day. Know exactly where I was and where I had been...

As I stated in the article about the 10 shot dead the day before in the US....

Port Arthur rattled this country to the core and shattered us completely...and I hope it never happens here again. 

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Junior Expert
2  Drinker of the Wry    2 years ago
Whilst we still have illegal weapons and criminal activities in the community, it doesn't come within cooee of USA incidents.

You don't have our 2nd Amendment.

 
 
 
Waykwabu
Freshman Silent
2.1  Waykwabu  replied to  Drinker of the Wry @2    2 years ago

For which we give our eternal thanks  😊

 
 
 
shona1
PhD Quiet
2.2  shona1  replied to  Drinker of the Wry @2    2 years ago

Evening Drinker..yep got to be happy with that.

But we are very well armed here and have a different mind set when it comes to guns..

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Junior Expert
2.2.1  Drinker of the Wry  replied to  shona1 @2.2    2 years ago

Exactly, history shapes us.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3  Vic Eldred    2 years ago
Amid fears of another possible hate crime, the man in custody was described by law enforcement sources as also being of Asian descent. The description was later confirmed by Hallock.
 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  Vic Eldred @3    2 years ago

So I guess this story won't amount to much?

Nope.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
3.1.1  Tessylo  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1    2 years ago

[removed]

 
 
 
Drinker of the Wry
Junior Expert
3.1.2  Drinker of the Wry  replied to  Tessylo @3.1.1    2 years ago
Too bad it wasn't a black person

The victims are still as dead.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
3.1.3  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1    2 years ago

It did turn out to be a hate crime. 

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.4  Vic Eldred  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @3.1.3    2 years ago

The man in custody is Asian.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3.1.5  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.4    2 years ago

Hate crimes occur on the basis of religion and on the basis of race, but his motivation was the the treatment he had undergone by Taiwanese people, and due to his deranged mind he took his revenge out on any Taiwanese people.  Note the Politico article I referred to in my comment below.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.6  Vic Eldred  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @3.1.5    2 years ago

So it's not a hate crime?

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
3.1.7  JohnRussell  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @3.1.5    2 years ago

I heard on the news this morning that this shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3.1.8  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.6    2 years ago

I indicated my opinion about it.  I'm not sure of the parameters of what is considered a hate crime, so I can't make that call. 

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.9  Vic Eldred  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @3.1.8    2 years ago
I'm not sure of the parameters of what is considered a hate crim

I thought you gave a very good definition:

Hate crimes occur on the basis of religion and on the basis of race

Of course Holden and Garland would disagree. For them the victims can never be white.


 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
4  Greg Jones    2 years ago

If the shooter is Black or Islamic the story tends to disappear quickly

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
4.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Greg Jones @4    2 years ago

It was on tonight's news, so no.

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
5  Paula Bartholomew    2 years ago

The death toll might have been higher if not for the heroic actions by some of the parishioners, some of who had military training.  They took him down and hog tied him until the police came.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
6  Just Jim NC TttH    2 years ago

This just in.................

The deadly shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, on Sunday, was motivated by the political tension between China and Taiwan, authorities said Monday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/deadly-church-shooting-motivated-by-taiwan-china-conflict-police/ar-AAXj5Ae?

 
 
 
Freefaller
Professor Quiet
6.1  Freefaller  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @6    2 years ago

Yep just read that myself, so it wasn't racially inspired hatred just politically inspired hatred

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
6.2  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @6    2 years ago

The guy had to be deranged, a twisted mind.  This Politico story relates personal reasons for his grudge which have to do only with his individual experiences.  (LINK) ->

The Chinese people generally, to the best of my knowledge, have neither fear nor hatred of the Taiwanese people, and any differences or policies lie only on a political level. 

 
 

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