The man accused of killing a doctor and injuring five other people when opened fire on the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in California had carefully planned the attack because it was upset by tensions between China and Taiwan, authorities said Monday.
David Chu, 68, locked the door of a Presbyterian church in Laguna Beach, California, on Sunday with a chain and a padlock before opening fire on bystanders, Orange County Sheriff Orang said yesterday.
Up to 40 people, all of Taiwanese descent, were attending a dinner in honor of a former pastor who had left the United States to settle in Taiwan but had returned for a visit when Chu started firing at them. .
According to the sheriff’s office, Chu is an American citizen living in Las Vegas and born in China. He drove to Southern California on Sunday and headed to church. After the incident, the police located three bags placed around the church and in which there were various objects, such as bullets and four Molotov cocktails.
The FBI has announced that it will investigate whether it is a hate crime.
The sheriff’s office announced late yesterday that investigators “concluded that the suspect was upset by the political tension between China and Taiwan,” without giving further details.
Inside Chu’s car, Barnes stated that notes were found in Mandarin indicating that he was obsessed with Taiwan and hated the Taiwanese.
China considers Taiwan part of it and has not ruled out using force to regain control. For its part, Taipei rejects Beijing’s claims, stressing that it is an independent state and that only its 23 million people can decide their future.
The 52-year-old doctor, John Cheng, died when he tried to confront Chu, the county sheriff said, praising his courage and pointing out that thanks to him there were no more dead.
After Cheng’s intervention, some believers, including the pastor, took the opportunity to tie the perpetrator’s legs with an electric cable and hold him until the police arrived at the scene and broke the chains on the church door.
Chu, who remains in custody, is believed to have acted alone, Barnes said. The perpetrator had bought the two weapons he used legally in the attack in Las Vegas.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ying-wen said she was deeply concerned about the incident and called on the island’s foreign ministry to help the victims and their families.
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