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AP Nevada

Suspect in California church shooting accused of hate crime

KION
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Published 9:25 AM

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors have accused a Las Vegas man of committing a hate crime by killing one person and wounding five in a mass shooting at a Taiwanese American church luncheon in California.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Friday that authorities added hate crime allegations to the murder and attempted murder charges filed against 68-year-old David Wenwei Chou.

Authorities have said Chou opened fire on a May lunch gathering of members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods. A 52-year-old doctor who took his mother to the event was killed.

Authorities have said Chou was motivated by hatred of Taiwan, where he was born and grew up after his family was forced from mainland China when Communists took control.

Chou is expected to be arraigned on Aug. 19. He did not enter a plea at an initial court appearance last month. Messages seeking comment were sent Friday to public defenders listed in the online court record for Chou, who is being held without bail.

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