The man who opened fire during a reception at a church in Southern California, killing one person and wounding five, was arrested by the congregation's own parishioners and by a pastor, in a feat described by authorities as heroic.
“They displayed what we believe to be exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening to apprehend the suspect.
They certainly prevented more deaths and injuries," said Jeff Hallock, an officer with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Jerry Chen, a 72-year-old member of the congregation, told The Associated Press news agency that he heard a series of shots around 1:30 p.m. Sunday when he entered the kitchen of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. , in Laguna Woods, where a lunch was held in honor of a pastor.
Chen then peered around the corner of the room into the main hall of the church and saw members of the congregation screaming, running and ducking under tables.
“He knew someone was shooting,” he said, “and he was very, very scared.
I ran out the kitchen door to call 911.”
Chen, who called 911 from the church parking lot, said he was in such shock that he couldn't tell the operator his location.
“I had to ask someone else for the address,” he said.
A shooting at a Presbyterian church in Southern California leaves one dead and five injured
May 16, 202201:39
The armed man killed a man and wounded five elderly people, four of them seriously, authorities said, until the parishioners themselves managed to stop the shooting.
Investigators do not believe the killer, an Asian man in his 60s whose name has not been released, is a member of the community.
The shooting came just a day after an 18-year-old gunned down 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what police say is a racist attack.
On Sunday there was another shooting in Texas that left two people dead after an argument at a flea market.
In California, Chen said a group of about 40 worshipers had gathered in the hall for lunch after a morning service
to honor their former pastor, Billy Chang,
who had served the church for 20 years.
Chang returned to Taiwan two years ago, and this was his first time back in the United States.
“They had just finished lunch,” Chen recounted, “taking photos with Chang.
He marched into the kitchen and that's when he heard the shots and ran out.
Orange County deputies check the identification of a person trying to access a parking lot at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022, following the fatal shooting.Damian Dovarganes/AP
His fellow congregation members later told him that when the killer stopped to reload his gun, Chang hit him over the head with a chair;
Other people took his gun from him and then tied him up with an electric cable, Chen said.
“
It was amazing how brave they were
,” he said, “this is very sad.
I never, ever thought something like this would happen in my church, in my community.”
Most of the church's members are elderly Taiwanese immigrants, Chen said.
“
We are mostly retirees
and the average age of our church is 80 years old,” she said.
I think it's safe to say that if people hadn't intervened it could have been a lot worse."
Jeff Hallock Jeff Hallock Sheriff's Deputy
Laguna Woods was built as a community for seniors and later became a city.
More than 80% of the residents of the town of 18,000 people and about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, are at least 65 years old.
The incident occurred in an area with Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches, and a synagogue.
"I think it's safe to say that if people hadn't stepped in, it could have been a lot worse," local authorities said.
The investigation is just beginning, they added, and there are still many unanswered questions, including whether the gunman attended the service, whether worshipers knew him, and how many shots were fired.
Five older adults injured
Most
of the worshipers in the church at the time were of Taiwanese descent
, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
The injured included four Asian men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian woman, the Sheriff's Department said.
No information about the killer has yet been released.
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The deadliest shooting inside a church occurred in 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas, when a man opened fire at a Sunday service at First Baptist Church, killing more than two dozen people.
In 2015, another man fired dozens of bullets during the final prayer of a 2015 Bible study session at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Nine members of the black congregation were killed;
the attacker became the first person sentenced to death for a federal hate crime;
he is still pending his appeal to the Supreme Court.