David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States is a Chinese immigrant who was allegedly frustrated over political disagreements between China and Taiwan. He was a security guard who owned two pistols, which he legally purchased in Nevada.

Chou was not associated with any specific religion. He has a wife and a son who currently do not reside in the U.S.

.

On the morning of May 15, 2022, Chou drove to the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, USA with his two pistols. There were no known ties between him and the congregation or any of its congregants who were mostly of Taiwanese descent. 

The Las Vegas resident later secured the building’s doors with chains and tried to disable the locks with superglue. Around 50 people, mostly elderly, were inside the building having an afternoon lunch reception to honor Billy Chang, a former pastor who had served the church for more than 20 years.

At around 1:30 p.m., Chou entered the church and fired on the group of congregants including John Cheng, 52, of Laguna Niguel, California. Cheng, a doctor who specialized in sports medicine, was married with two children.

Cheng charged Chou in an attempt to disarm the shooter. This allowed others to subdue and disarm Chou and hogtie the shooter’s legs with an extension cord.

Before being disarmed, Chou shot six people in the building including Cheng, who was later pronounced dead on the scene. The other victims were all taken to hospitals for treatment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a hate crime investigation into the shooting. Chou was charged with one felony count of murder and five felony counts of attempted murder, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.