LOS ANGELES — Authorities on Monday were investigating a motive behind a deadly shooting at a Southern California church that ended after congregants thwarted the gunman from causing more bloodshed.
At least one person was killed and five people were injured when the shooter opened fire Sunday afternoon at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, which was hosting a Taiwanese congregation. The shooter’s identity has not been released, but sheriff’s officials described him as an Asian man in his 60s.
A group of congregants inside the church prevented further carnage when they pinned the gunman to the ground, hogtied his legs with an extension cord, and took his weapons, said Orange County’s undersheriff Jeff Hallock.
“That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe is exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening to stop the suspect,” Hallock said. “They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities.”
‘Exceptional heroism’:California churchgoers stopped rampage, hogtied suspect after deadly shooting
How did the Laguna Woods church shooting unfold?
Police said the shooter was armed with two handguns when he entered the church around 1:30 p.m. PT Sunday.
About 30 or 40 people inside, most of whom were of Taiwanese descent, had just finished morning services and were gathering for an afternoon luncheon, officials said.
When deputies arrived, they found the suspect hogtied and took him into custody. He was not injured.
Who were the victims?
Authorities have not released the names of the five people who suffered gunshot wounds, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.
Four Asian men, whose ages range from 66 to 92, and one Asian woman, 86, were injured. They were all taken to hospitals for treatment, the sheriff’s department said.
The sheriff’s department did not immediately release any information about the person who was killed.
Was the shooting a hate crime?
The suspect is not from the area where the shooting occurred, about 45 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Hallock said.
Authorities are investigating why he targeted the church, which was hosting a large Taiwanese congregation at the time, and whether it might be considered a hate crime, he added.
Any connection between the shooter and the church or its congregation was also not immediately clear.
The afternoon lunch reception was 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.
Contributing: The Associated Press