LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA (AP) – A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a Southern California church, killing one person and wounding five senior citizens before a pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords.
Jerry Chen had just stepped into the kitchen of his church around 1.30pm on Sunday when he heard the gunshots.
Chen, 72, a longtime congregant at Irvine Taiwan Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, peeked around the corner and saw church members screaming, running and ducking under tables.
“I knew someone was shooting,” he said.
“I was very, very scared. I ran out the kitchen door to call 9-1-1.”
Officials said the shooting ended after the gunman killed one man and wounded five senior citizens before worshippers hog-tied his legs with an electrical cord until deputies arrived.
Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries.
While a motive for the shooting was not immediately disclosed, investigators don’t believe the gunman lives in the community. The investigation was in its early stages, Hallock said.
Those wounded included four Asian men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian woman, the sheriff’s department said.
