(AP)
One person is dead, four others are “seriously” injured and another has “light” injuries after a gunman opened fire inside a Southern California church on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency dispatchers received a call about a shooting inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods at 1:26 p.m. PT on May 15, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
All of the victims are adults and have been admitted to area hospitals.
A suspect, described by police as an Asian male in his 60s, was arrested at the scene and two handguns were recovered.
The church in Laguna Woods — a town of about 16,000 about 50 miles south of Los Angeles — held its weekly in-person worship services earlier on Sunday.
About 30 to 40 people, many of them Taiwanese, were inside the church during the shooting, police said.
A statement from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said officials “no one should have to worry about going to their place of worship. Our thoughts are with the victims, the community and all those affected by this tragic event. »
The shooting comes a day after a gunman killed 10 people at a grocery store in a seemingly racist attack in Buffalo, New York, among the deadliest mass shootings of 2022.
ICMYI: Congregants ‘tied up’ gunman who killed one and injured five at Laguna Woods church in California
A gunman who opened fire at a Southern California church on Sunday was “tied up” with an extension cord by parishioners after killing one person and injuring five others, police say.
He was still tied up when the police arrived.
“If people hadn’t intervened, it could have been a lot worse,” Orange County Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hallock said at a news conference on Sunday. “There were 30 to 40 people in the church.”
Four of the injured are in critical condition in area hospitals.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 04:00
There have been 200 mass shootings so far in 2022
The latest massacres in Buffalo, New York and Southern California are part of an epidemic of gun violence in the United States that has killed nearly 16,000 people this year.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 03:30
Organist left church just before shooting broke out: NYT
Charlotte Hsieh, a church organist, left the Geneva Presbyterian Church about an hour and a half before a gunman entered and shot dead six people.
“I couldn’t even imagine something like this could happen here,” she said. The New York Times. “I’m as shocked as anyone.”
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 03:00
The shooter’s motive and ties to the church are unknown, police say
Police said they arrested an Asian man in his 60s after a shooting left one dead and five injured at a church in Laguna Woods, California.
So far, however, they do not know the individual’s motive for allegedly carrying out the shooting, or whether he had ties to the Presbyterian Church of Geneva.
A police source said The Los Angeles Times the man is 68 years old and comes from Las Vegas.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 02:30
ATF and FBI help investigate church shooting
Federal agents from the FBI and ATF have joined Orange County police as they investigate a shooting at a Southern California church that left one dead and five injured.
The ATF said Sunday it had put an “emergency” trace on the two handguns recovered from the scene, which were commercially manufactured and bore serial numbers.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 02:00
Breaking News: Congregants ‘tied up’ gunman who killed one and injured five at Laguna Woods church in California
A gunman who opened fire at a Southern California church on Sunday was “tied up” with an extension cord by parishioners after killing one person and injuring five others, police say.
“If people hadn’t intervened, it could have been a lot worse,” Orange County Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hallock said at a news conference on Sunday. “There were 30 to 40 people in the church.”
Josh Marcus has the latest updates on the tragic shooting.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 01:26
A hogtied shooter with an extension cord while filming
Parishioners tied down a gunman with an extension cord after killing one person and injuring five others at a Southern California church on Sunday, according to Orange County Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hallock.
“They have undoubtedly avoided additional injuries and deaths,” Mr Hallock told a press conference on Sunday.
Police arrived at the scene to find the man bound and stripped of at least two weapons.
The suspect, whose motive and whereabouts are unknown, is an Asian man in his 60s, according to police.
Police say it’s unclear if the attack was a hate incident like Saturday’s mass shooting in Buffalo, or if the man had ties to the church.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 01:10
Parishioners ‘subdued’ the shooter who opened fire on the church
About 30 people were inside the Presbyterian church in Geneva on Sunday when a gunman opened fire inside, before being “subdued” by parishioners, according to the police.
The individual, who has not been publicly named, is a 68-year-old Asian man from Las Vegas, a law enforcement source said. The Los Angeles Times.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 12:56 a.m.
Police will speak publicly shortly about the shooting at a church in Southern California
Police are expected to address the public at 5 p.m. PT on Sunday with updates on the shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, Calif.
Josh MarcusMay 16, 2022 12:45 a.m.
Law enforcement: many people inside the church were Taiwanese
A fire truck is parked in front of the Presbyterian Church in Geneva on May 15.
(AP)
Officials from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told reporters that many of the approximately 30 people who were inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church at the time of the shooting were Taiwanese.
The church hosts services for the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Irvine.
Alex WoodwardMay 15, 2022 11:53 p.m.
The Independent Gt