China News Agency, Los Angeles, May 17th. The Orange County, California, U.S. Attorney announced on the 17th that David Chou, the suspect in the Laguna Woods church shooting, has been charged with 10 counts including first-degree murder.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is death or life imprisonment without bail.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a news conference that day, David Chou faces 10 counts of felony murder including one count of felony first-degree murder, five counts of attempted felony murder and four counts of possessing a destructive device with intent Murder or hurt another person.
In addition, the prosecution also brought increased penalties for special factors such as the use of firearms and ambush and premeditated murder.
Orange County prosecutors are currently not prosecuting the suspect for a hate crime.
But Spitzer said his team was investigating the evidence with the FBI.
At 1:26 p.m. local time on the 15th, the Orange County Sheriff's Department received a call of a shooting incident inside a church (Geneva Presbyterian Church) on El Toro Avenue in Laguna Woods, the county.
John Cheng, a 52-year-old Chinese doctor, a resident of Laguna Niguel, Orange County, fought bravely with the suspect and was unfortunately shot several times and died on the spot.
Five other people, four Asian men aged 66 to 92 and an 86-year-old Asian woman, were injured in the shooting, four of them seriously.
The suspect, David Chou, was arrested at the scene and held on $1 million bail.
According to the Orange County police and the US media, David Chou, a 68-year-old Asian resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a US citizen and works as a security guard.
He drove to Orange County on the 14th and arrived at the church on the 15th with two pistols, extra ammunition and four incendiary devices.
The Taiwan Presbyterian Church in Irvine is holding a lunch reception here after the service, with about 40 people in attendance.
The suspects chained the church door and glued the door lock with super glue before opening fire to prevent people inside the church from escaping.
Police have not found any direct ties to the church or church members, and the FBI has launched a federal hate crime investigation.
According to the "Los Angeles Times" and other US media citing relevant sources, the suspect in the case was born in Taiwan.
His Las Vegas neighbor said the suspect was experiencing dramatic personal life fluctuations in the months before the incident. His wife returned to Taiwan last year for cancer treatment, and he was evicted from his rental residence this year.
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