Suspected gunman of California church shooting identified

Los Angeles, May 17

Authorities have identified the suspect who carried out a shooting at a church in California that left one person dead and five others injured.

In a statement on Monday, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said that the suspect, David Chou, has been booked on one felony count of murder and five felony counts of attempted murder, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 68-year-old Las Vegas man is being held on $1 million bail.

The shooting took place at 1.30 p.m. on Sunday inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church in the City of Laguna Woods in Southern California's Orange County.

The suspect opened fire at an Asian church congregation when the church was hosting a luncheon to honor a former pastor.

"When deputies arrived, they found the congregants had detained the suspect by tackling him then tying his legs with extension cords," said the Sheriff's Department, adding that deputies located one deceased individual and five others who were injured.

Two firearms were recovered at the scene.

The injured victims, four men between the ages of 66 and 92 and one 86-year-old woman, are all of Asian descent, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The identity of the deceased will be released pending official identification by the coroner and notification of next of kin.

It remains unclear what motivated the deadly shooting at the church.

Officials said that the shooting investigation has continued and teams were also still processing the scene.