Members showed “exceptional heroism and bravery” as they overtook the gunman, who killed one person and wounded five.
A celebratory Sunday luncheon for the former pastor of a Taiwanese congregation in California ended in “grief and disbelief” when a gunman opened fire, killing one person and injuring five others.
During his visit from Taiwan, the longtime pastor of Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church knocked down the shooter, preventing him from reloading and shooting more of the aging congregation, according to news accounts. Members were then able to use an extension cord to hogtie him and disarm him.
The incident took place at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, where the Taiwanese church has met for the past decade.
Sunday’s luncheon—a tradition that had been on hold during the pandemic—resumed in honor of the return of their longtime pastor Billy Chang. According to the Los Angeles Times, Chang pastored Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian for 21 years and left in 2020 to lead a church in Taiwan.
Authorities said 30 to 40 members were gathered when the suspect, an Asian man in his 60s, opened fire with two handguns. The church’s current pastor Albany Lee told the New York Times that no one recognized the shooter and that it was the visiting pastor who subdued him. Several accounts describe Chang hitting the gunman with a chair.
The Orange County undersheriff applauded the church’s response as a display of “exceptional heroism and bravery” that prevented the situation from becoming worse. Investigators haven’t yet named a motive.
One person died on the scene, and four were in critical condition on Sunday. One suffered minor injuries. The oldest victim was 92.
“There is a lot of grief and disbelief among the congregation,” Yorba Linda Councilwoman Peggy Huang, ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
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