On May 15, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, United States. The Orange County church was hosting a congregation of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church for Sunday services. The shooter killed one person and wounded five others.[2][3] A suspect, 68-year-old David Chou of Las Vegas, was arrested at the scene. Authorities allege that the crime was committed out of political hatred of those with different views on Taiwan.[4][5] Chou has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, all with hate crime enhancements, and four counts of possessing an explosive device.[6][7] He was later indicted on 98 federal charges.[8]
Shooting
The attack happened during a luncheon after the church service.[9] There were between 30 and 40 people inside.[10]
At around 10:10 a.m. local time, the would-be shooter entered the sanctuary. The receptionist, who did not recognize the man, asked him to fill out a form with his personal details. He refused, claiming to have completed the form in the past.[11] Witnesses said he mingled with other attendees[12] and spoke to them in Taiwanese Hokkien.[13] Pastor Billy Chang said the man sat in the back of the sanctuary and was reading a newspaper throughout the entire sermon.[9]
After the service, the church goers gathered in a separate hall for a luncheon in Chang's honor, and some guests who left early saw the shooter attempting to lock the doors with chains. While some asked what he was doing, others assumed he was a security officer.[9][14] He then shot first into the ceiling, with many assuming it was a balloon popping instead of gunfire. Some attendees dropped to the floor and crawled under tables before an attendee, John Cheng, charged the shooter and tried to disarm him but was in turn shot and killed.[15][9] As the shooter attempted to reload his weapon, pastor Billy Chang hit the man on the head with a chair.[14][16] Several attendees then tackled and hogtied him with an extension cord and confiscated two handguns, which were eventually recovered by police.[16][17][18] After he complained, those holding the shooter down eased up on the force of restraint to allow him to breathe.[19]
Police were alerted at about 1:26 p.m.[17] They found the doors chained shut and their locks glued. Four items similar to Molotov cocktails were stored inside.[4]
Victims
A 52-year-old man named John Cheng was killed after trying to stop the shooter. While Cheng was not a member of the congregation, he accompanied his mother there to mourn his father.[20] Five other victims, all of Taiwanese descent and aged between 66 and 92, were also shot but survived their injuries.[5] Four of them were male, and one was an 86-year-old female.[21]
Chou considers himself and Taiwanese as "all Chinese" of a single country without a border.[27][28] In the past, immigration documents from Taiwan often showed China as the place of birth.[29][30] This might have led law enforcement and some media outlets to misidentify Chou as an immigrant from the mainland.[31][32][33]
According to his former neighbor, Chou moved to Las Vegas in 2009 and once owned an apartment building. In 2012, he suffered a nearly fatal attack from two tenants over rent that led to a loss of consciousness, a broken skull, elbow, and partial hearing loss.[34][35] He also suspected that the police detectives tried to withhold a bag with his money before the prosecutor allowed it to be finally returned.[36] The incident is said to have changed his temperament and view of law enforcement negatively.[37][38]
Acquaintances who knew Chou and his wife through the Taiwanese Association of Las Vegas and the local Taiwanese Presbyterian Church were surprised by his pro-unification stance, because most members there were pro-independence. They recalled Chou was very negative about life and complained about unfairness in society, about Taiwan and U.S. government and law enforcement.[39][40] In 2019, Chou attended the founding ceremony of Las Vegas Chinese for Peaceful Unification and displayed a banner calling for the "eradication of pro independence demons".[41][42][25] The association's spokesperson said he demonized people from Taiwan and has not been involved with the organization since the second half of 2019.[21][43]
During their divorce in 2021, his wife returned to Taiwan, where their son lives, for late stage cancer treatment.[20] Chou's life unraveled after she left and the building was sold.[28] He found occasional work as a security guard, but the income was not enough to pay for his rent. After being evicted from his old building, he moved into a different place with a roommate. Chou's mental stability appeared to diminish, telling his former neighbor "I just don’t care about my life anymore.”[28] He once fired a gun without injuring anyone.[44] Other tenants have found photographs of Chou posing with a gun and laughing hysterically at a memorial for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.[28]
Two weeks before driving to Laguna Woods, Chou told his roommate that he felt the Taiwanese government was corrupt and disliked those who were sympathetic to its leaders.[45] He had allegedly written a manifesto entitled Diary of the Independence-Slaying Angel (滅獨天使日記) and mailed it to the pan-blueWorld Journal. The package arrived one day after the shooting and is in the possession of the newspaper's attorney pending subpoena.[46][47]
Investigation and legal proceedings
Law enforcement has described the shooting as motivated by political tension and hatred of Taiwan.[4][5] Sheriff Don Barnes said that handwritten notes recovered from a vehicle expressed Chou's "hatred for the Taiwanese people" and belief that Taiwan should not be independent from China. Barnes surmised that these sentiments began because of the way Chou was received and treated while growing up in Taiwan.[13][20]
Chou has been held without bail. Prosecutors initially charged Chou with one count of murder, five counts of premeditated attempted murder, four counts of possession of an explosive device, and enhancement charges of lying in wait and personal discharge of a firearm causing death.[48] On June 17 prosecutors added hate crime enhancements to the murder and attempted murder charges.[49][7] If convicted, Chou could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.[12][11] In May 2023, Chou was indicted on 98 federal charges, including hate crimes and weapons charges.[8]
Reactions
Bouquets in memory of Cheng outside the church
Sheriff Barnes commended Cheng as a heroic figure who prevented the shooter from hurting more people.[5] U.S. Representative Katie Porter, whose district includes Laguna Woods, also referred to an earlier shooting in Buffalo, New York and said, "This should not be our new normal. I will work hard to support the victims and their families."[50]
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen condemned the shooting and offered condolences to the victims.[51] She asked for representatives in the US to fly to California to offer assistance. Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador, posted on Twitter that she was "shocked and saddened by the fatal shooting" and would mourn with the Taiwanese-American community and victims' families.[52] The Taiwanese Kuomintang also condemned the shooting.[25]
Some have blamed the incident on Beijing's unification rhetoric.[25][53] In Taiwan, DPP legislator Lin Ching-yi attributed the shooting to “genocidal ideology”, and 60 civic groups called for the designation of Chinese for Peaceful Unification as a terrorist organization.[54] Although not necessarily the same group, the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification has been accused of at times extremist messaging by Michael Cole, a fellow at the Macdonald–Laurier Institute. Lev Nachman, a fellow at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies notes how the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has supported independence since the 1970s but cautions against simplifying the shooting as China versus Taiwan.[43]
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs, said, "[W]e hope the US government can take action against its increasingly severe gun violence problem".[25] Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said, "We express our condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured."[14]
On May 21, local elected officials and religious leaders gathered at the church to memorialize and honor the victims of the shooting. A moment of silence was held for Dr. Cheng. RepresentativeYoung Kim stated that there is no place in society for any type of hate and the community needed to stand together.[55]
^ abWen, Weizhong (May 18, 2022). "加州教堂枪击案嫌凶是台湾移民 警方调查：政治动机仇恨犯罪" [Californian church shooting suspect is Taiwanese immigrant: Police investigates as politically-related hate crime]. Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
^ ab"槍擊台人教會… 好友曝周文偉「不滿民進黨執政」" [Shot up a Taiwanese Church… Close friend says Chou Wen-Wei is "dissatisfied with DPP government"]. World Journal. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022 – via Yahoo.
^Everington, Keoni (May 17, 2022). "Church shooter was motivated by hate of Taiwanese | Taiwan News | 2022-05-17 10:40:00". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. The office pointed out that in the past, holders of Taiwan passports with parents from China, often listed "China" as their birthplace on official documents when immigrating to the U.S. and this may have been the case with Chou.
^"南加州教會槍殺案 駐處查證凶嫌周文偉為台灣移民" [Southern California church shooting: Chou Wenwei verified as a Taiwanese immigrant by resident [Taiwanese] mission] (in Chinese). Central News Agency. May 17, 2022. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022. 被美方誤認為出生「中國」有其歷史淵源。大約50年前，台灣人持有護照上的出生地，英文為Repubilc of China，當時申請到美國的移民於官方文件的出生地多寫「中國」（China）。 [Misidentification by American authorities as born in "China" has historical reasons. About 50 years ago, the place of birth on Taiwanese passports was "Republic of China" in English. Immigrants to the U.S. usually wrote "China" as their place of birth.]
^Kong, Sum Lok-kei in Hong (May 17, 2022). "Beijing's rhetoric in spotlight as Taiwan condemns California shooting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022. Although police told the Guardian he was born in mainland China, Taiwan's Central News Agency, citing the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, Taiwan's de facto consulate in the city, reported that he was born in Taiwan in 1953.
^Fromer, Jacob (May 16, 2022). "Suspected California church gunman is Taiwanese immigrant, Taipei official says". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. The information contradicted reports issued by law enforcement officials in California on Monday that the assailant was from mainland China. News of the shooting, which was initially framed as a matter of mainland Chinese anger directed against Taiwan ... trended on many US media outlets on Monday. A second Taiwanese official in Los Angeles said that Chou was born in Taiwan and currently holds a Taiwan passport.
^Spinelli, Dan (May 20, 2022). "The California church shooting shows the long arc of Taiwanese history". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. In the initial aftermath, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes identified the suspect, 68-year-old David Chou, as a native of mainland China. That bit of news gained traction in outlets like the Associated Press, which described Chou as a "Chinese immigrant motivated by hate for Taiwanese," an angle that was further amplified in Apple Daily Taiwan. But those early reports turned out to be incorrect.
^Ormseth, Matthew (May 17, 2022). "Suspect's life was collapsing before Laguna Woods church shooting". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022. In hindsight, Orellana believed Chou showed signs of mental instability ... Instead, the tenant beat Chou, fracturing his skull and breaking his arm.
^"收房租遭劫受重傷 周文偉感慨述心酸" [Assaulted when collecting rent, Chou reveals heartbreak]. Las Vegas Chinese News Network (in Chinese). June 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022. 他感謝檢察官Jonathan Cooper的細心，成功阻止了一場「劫中劫」! 二人假意給房租 ... 不久就不省人事，醒來時已躺日昇醫院（Sunrise Hospital）重創中心（Trauma Center），頭上、左眼眉心共縫了30幾針，左手肘骨被打斷，打了8根鋼釘，目前，還留下右耳失聰的後遺症。 [He thanked prosecutor Jonathan Cooper for preventing him from getting robbed twice! The couple pretended to pay rent ... Soon he lost consciousness. After waking up at Sunrise Hospital Trauma Center, he had received 30 stitches on his head and left eye, his left elbow had fractured and needed 8 screws, his right hear lost its hearing.]
^"周文偉照片曝光 舊識友撇清：點頭之交" [Chou's photograph surfaced, old friend says acquaintance only]. 鏡新聞 Mnews (in Traditional Chinese). May 25, 2022. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. 事後詢問警方錢去了哪裡，員警供稱被檢方當成證物扣押，事後才發現根本就是謊言，因此引發不滿，讓他對美國司法體系徹底失望 [After the incident (he) asked police where was the money, the officers said the prosecutor was keeping it as evidence, later (he) found out it was a lie and therefore became upset and disappointed by the U.S. judicial system.]
^"加州教會槍擊案》兇嫌周文偉和藹可親？ 疑因此事性情大變" [California church shooting: Was suspect Chou Wenwei an amiable person? His temperament is suspected to have changed after this incident]. 自由時報電子報 Liberty Times (in Chinese). May 17, 2022. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022. 導致其頭部受到重擊、左手和肋骨斷裂、右耳永久失聰。因為過去周文偉一直給人和藹可親的形象，認為可能是在差點被租客打死後性情大變。 [... causing heavy impact to his head, fracture of left hand and ribs, loss of hearing in the right ear. Because in the past Chou Wenwei always gave the impression of an amiable person, (his neighbor) believes that the beating might have caused his temperament to change significantly.]
^"拉斯維加斯中國和平統一促進會正式成立" [Las Vegas NACPU chapter formally established]. Las Vegas Chinese News Network (in Chinese). April 3, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
^Zhang, Ting-yu (May 18, 2022). "周文偉作案前寄七冊日記 本報交警方處理" [Chou mailed (us) a seven-volume diary before committing the crime; Our paper handed it to the police]. 世界新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
