(LAGUNA WOODS, Calif.) — One person was killed and five were wounded in a shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, on Sunday, authorities said.
Four were critically hurt and one person suffered minor injuries from the shooting inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office tweeted. All victims are adults and range in age from 66 to 92 years old, the sheriff’s office said.
A group of churchgoers detained the suspect and hogtied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated two handguns from him before more people could be shot, according to Jeff Hallock, undersheriff at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
“That group of churchgoers displayed what we believed exceptional heroism, heroism and bravery in interfering or intervening to stop the suspect,” Hallock said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said later Sunday that it had arrested a suspect who was described as an Asian man in his 60s.
The man was taken into custody and two firearms were recovered at the scene, authorities said.
The suspect was identified Monday in Orange County jail records as 68-year-old Las Vegas resident David Chou. He has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder and is being held on $1 million bail, jail records show.
Investigators are working to determine whether he has any connections to the church or its congregants.
“The Presbytery of Los Ranchos is deeply saddened by a fatal shooting that occurred at a lunch reception honoring a former pastor of the Taiwanese congregation that nests at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods,” Tom Cramer, Presbytery head of staff, said in a statement Sunday. “Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for those traumatized by this shooting.”
The suspect opened fire at a lunch banquet at the church following a morning service, Hallock said.
The shooting was reported at about 1:26 p.m. local time, authorities said.
Hallock said a motive and whether the suspect had an intended target is unknown.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI are en route to assist local officials.
There were 30 to 40 people inside the church when the shooting began, officials said.
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