Elderly Taiwanese Church in California Attacked by Shooter
Christianity Today Magazine
Members showed “exceptional heroism and bravery” as they overtook the gunman, who killed one person and wounded five.
A celebratory Sunday luncheon for the former pastor of a Taiwanese congregation in California ended in “grief and disbelief” when a gunman opened fire, killing one person and injuring five others.
Visiting from Taiwan, the longtime pastor of Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church knocked down the shooter, preventing the intruder from reloading and firing at more of the aging congregation, according to news accounts. Members were then able to use an extension cord to hogtie the shooter and disarm him.
The incident took place at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, where the Taiwanese church has met for the past decade.
Sunday’s luncheon—a tradition that had been on hold during the pandemic—resumed in honor of the return of their longtime pastor Billy Chang. According to the Los Angeles Times, Chang pastored Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian for 21 years and left in 2020 to lead a church in Taiwan.
Authorities said 30 to 40 members were gathered when the suspect, an Asian man in his 60s, opened fire with two handguns. The church’s current pastor, Albany Lee, told The New York Times that no one recognized the shooter and it was the visiting pastor who subdued him. Several accounts describe Chang hitting the gunman with a chair.
Orange County law enforcement applauded the congregation’s response as a display of “exceptional heroism and bravery” that prevented the situation from becoming worse.
On Monday, the sheriff called the attack a “a politically motived hate incident” and said the suspect—David Chou, a Chinese American from Las Vegas—held animosity toward the Taiwanese community. Authorities opened a federal hate crime investigation.
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