April 19, 2024
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — Police say churchgoers detained the gunman who shot multiple people Sunday at a California church, calling their intervention an act of "exceptional heroism and bravery."
One person was killed and four others were critically wounded in the shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church in a suburban Southern California community where the majority of residents are seniors, officials said. The shooting occurred during a lunch banquet after a morning service in the church.
Police say the suspect in the shooting is an Asian male in his 60s who investigators do not believe lives in the community.
Police say by the time they arrived on the scene the parishioners had the man hog-tied and in custody.
“I think it’s safe to say that had people not intervened, it could have been much worse,” Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock says.
“That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe is exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening to stop the suspect. They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities,” Hallock says.
About 30 people witnessed the violence, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff’s spokesperson. The majority of those inside the church are believed to be of Taiwanese descent, Braun said.
Investigators were looking at many factors, including whether the bloodshed could be a hate crime and whether the gunman was known to the church community, Braun said.
The gunfire erupted during a lunch reception honoring a former pastor of a Taiwanese congregation that has services at Geneva, according to a statement from the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, a church administrative body.
“Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for the those traumatized by this shooting,” the presbytery’s Tom Cramer said in a statement on Facebook.
Laguna Woods was built as a senior living community and later became a city. More than 80% of residents in the city of 18,000 people about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles are at least 65.
On its website, Geneva Presbyterian Church describes its mission as “to remember, tell, and live the way of Jesus by being just, kind, and humble.”
“All are welcome here. Really, we mean that! … Geneva aspires to be an inclusive congregation worshipping, learning, connecting, giving and serving together.”
___
Weber reported from Los Angeles, along with Associated Press journalist Stefanie Dazio.
