Death penalty contemplated for California church shooting gunman

David Wenwei Chou, the suspect in last Sunday’s shooting at a church in California that left one dead and five wounded, may face the death penalty, authorities reported Tuesday.

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Chou was charged with murder today, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who said at a news conference that if convicted he would face life in prison or the death penalty.

It pointed out that the circumstances in which the defendant carried out the attack give the murder charge an aggravating circumstance that could lead to capital punishment.

He explained that the suspect was mixed among his victims and waited for the right moment to attack them.

“This is not a case in which the death (penalty) is ruled out. He did everything he could to fit in, to become one of them,” he added.

Spitzer, of the Republican Party, has criticized the moratorium on the death penalty imposed in 2019 by the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom.

The prosecutor said that in addition to the first-degree murder charge, Chou, 68, faces charges of attempted murder and possession of destructive devices with the intent to kill or harm.

Chou, a Chinese immigrant living in Las Vegas, Nevada, is accused of shooting six people at a Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods, Orange County.

Don Barnes, chief of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said Monday that initial investigations point to it as a “politically motivated hate incident” because of tensions between China and Taiwan.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a possible hate crime investigation in connection with the shooting, and Spitzer said his office is working with the federal agency to analyze that hypothesis and, if confirmed, add it to the charges.

“While at this point there is very strong evidence that this was motivated by hate, we want to make sure that we have gathered all the evidence that confirms that theory,” he said Tuesday.

According to investigations, before shooting Chou, a naturalized American, blocked the exits of the church to prevent people from escaping. It is estimated that there were about 50 people, most of them elderly.

Authorities said the same parishioners managed to arrest and subdue the man, who was carrying two weapons. Several cartridges, Molotov cocktails and incendiary devices were also found.

Chou worked as a security guard in Las Vegas, which allowed him to purchase the weapons legally.

Doctor John Cheng, 53, was identified as the person who lost his life in the shooting while trying to defend the rest of the parishioners.

The injured are an 86-year-old woman and four men aged 92, 82, 75 and 66.

Source: Elcomercio

Deshawn