California church shooter motivated by anti-Taiwanese hate, police say

A 68-year-old Nevada man accused of killing one person and wounding five others in a Taiwanese congregation in Orange County, Calif. was allegedly motivated by anti-Taiwan sentiment in what law enforcement is calling a politically motivated hate crime. Investigators are pursuing federal hate-crime charges against the suspect, identified as David Chou of Las Vegas. Chou already faces one felony count of murder and five felony counts of attempted murder for the Sunday shooting. Chou is a Chinese-born United States citizen who has lived in the U.S. for “many years” and was “upset by political tensions between China and Taiwan,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said during a Monday news conference. Barnes said notes written in Mandarin were found in Chou’s vehicle that supported “his hatred [of the] Taiwanese people” and his beliefs that Taiwan should not be an independent country. Barnes said he believed that hate manifested when Chou was living in Taiwan as a youth where he was “not well-received.”

China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, as its own and has asserted it could one day use force to take control of Taiwan. Barnes and other officials described a dramatic scene of terror met with bravery, particularly hailing the actions of John Cheng, who was identified Monday as the lone person killed in the shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. The small congregation worships in the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods. “Dr. Cheng is a hero in this incident,” Barnes said. “Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, there is no doubt there’d be numerous victims in this crime.” Cheng, a 52-year-old sports medicine doctor, spent the final moments of his life trying to protect fellow congregants after the shooter opened fire and struck several elderly churchgoers, Barnes said. Cheng was shot, but the shooter’s pistol jammed before he could fire additional rounds; the delay gave the pastor enough time to swing a chair at the gunman, knocking him down as other members of the congregation moved to hogtie his legs with an extension cord until police arrived. Cheng, of nearby Laguna Niguel, was pronounced dead at the scene. He is survived by his wife and two children, officials said.