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| Dr. John Cheng was the lone fatality in a California shooting spree. |
If not for the heroic sacrifice of Dr. John Cheng, the gunman in the Laguna Woods church shooting spree would have killed dozens more parishioners last Sunday afternoon.
Cheng, 52, is being hailed as a hero.
"Dr. Cheng is a hero in this incident," Orange County Sheriff Donald Barnes said Monday. "Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, it is no doubt that there would have been numerous additional victims in this crime."
Cheng was the only person killed in the mass shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church, where a Taiwanese church held services, in Laguna Woods, California. Five others were wounded by gunfire -- and if not for Cheng's efforts, more people could have been shot and killed, said Barnes.
About 40 group church members were gathered at a banquet outside the sanctuary to honor Rev. Billy Chang, a former pastor of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church visiting from Taiwan.Cheng, who was not a church members, was attending the reception with his recently widowed mother.
The gunman, 68-year old David Wenwei Chou, a former security guard from Las Vegas, Nevada, first shot at the ceiling.
While some bystanders thought it was a balloon popping, Chou, a martial arts instructor, saw the weapon and quickly charged at Chou despite being shot three times. This gave other parishioners time to join the fray to disarm and pin down the gunman.
The pastor, Billy Chang, struck the gunman with a chair, and others hogtied the man with an extension cord and took at least two handguns from him, officials said.
Cheng's quick action charging Chou caused the firearm to jam, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
"If that event had not occurred, in other words, if the gun had not jammed, that suspect, Mr. Chou, he was ready to kill everybody in that church," he said.
Chou lived in Las Vegas and was a US citizen who immigrated from China years ago, according to Barnes. Authorities found out that Chou had also secured the doors of the church from the inside using chains and super glue, and he also had a bag of Molotov cocktails and a bag of extra ammunition.
The attack is being seen by officials as politically motivated act. The Chinese American suspect was apparently upset about political tensions between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. He has been charged with murder and nine other counts, Spitzer said.
The California mass shooting occurred days after a gunman shot at customers in a Korean nail spa, wounding several employees and customers, in Dallas Texas and a supermarket shooting spree in a supermarket that claimed the lives of 10 African Americans in Buffalo, NY. Both shooting incidents are being investigated as racial hate crimes.
Cheng leaves behind a wife and two children, worked as a family and sports medicine physician at the South Coast Medical Group in Aliso Viejo, California.
"Dr. Cheng was a natural protector and healer. It was characteristic of Dr. Cheng, to charge forward at the gunman. It doesn’t surprise any of us, that he was the HERO!," said a statement from the medical group. A GoFundMe page has been established for his family.
“No one should have to fear going to their place of worship,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Our thoughts are with the victims, community, and all those impacted by this tragic event.”
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