Five injured, one dead in shooting at California church, suspect in custody

One person has been killed and five others have been wounded at a shooting at a church in Orange County, California, according to police.

“We have detained one person and have recovered a weapon that may be involved,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced on Twitter on Sunday. All the victims are adults, and four were “critically wounded” and rushed to the hospital.

The shooting occured in the city of Laguna Woods, about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles, an area with a large population of seniors. The suspect, an Asian man in his 60s, was in custody and deputies recovered two handguns at the scene, Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said.

The majority of those inside the church at the time were believed to be of Taiwanese descent, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff’s spokesperson [AP].

A gun that may have been used in the shooting has been recovered, the OCSD said. Deputies are still at the scene. Thirty to 40 witnesses will need to be interviewed, including people who were inside the church at the time, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said [NBC Los Angeles]

Orange County fire officials said they had emergency medical crews on the scene, and had transfered multiple people to the hospital. The shooting occured on the 24000 block of El Toro Road. The exact circumstances that led to the shooting remain undisclosed.

“My understanding is this all occurred inside the church building,” a police spokesperson told The New York Times. “We’re trying to figure out what kind of a service was going on at the time.”

The FBI is assisting with the response at the scene, the Los Angeles Times reports. So is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom also said it is monitoring what happened closely.

“No one should have to fear going to their place of worship,” it wrote in statement. “Our thoughts are with the victims, community, and all those impacted by this tragic event.”

The shooting came just a day after 10 people were killed in a white supremacist mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on Saturday.

“This is upsetting and disturbing news, especially less than a day after a mass shooting in Buffalo,” US Representative Katie Porter, whose district is nearby, wrote on Twitter on Sundy. “This should not be our new normal. I will work hard to support the victims and their families” [Independent].