CNN
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A California household and sports activities medication physician with a deep curiosity in constructing group was praised as a hero after he died confronting a gunman at a church service Sunday.
Dr. John Cheng, 52, was the lone particular person killed within the mass capturing on the Geneva Presbyterian Church, the place a Taiwanese church held providers, in Laguna Woods, California. 5 others have been wounded by gunfire – and if not for Cheng’s efforts, the bloodshed might have been worse.
“Dr. Cheng is a hero on this incident,” Orange County Sheriff Donald Barnes stated Monday. “With out the actions of Dr. Cheng, it’s little doubt that there would have been quite a few extra victims on this crime.”
The capturing occurred throughout a lunch reception of largely aged congregants to rejoice a Taiwanese pastor’s return from a mission journey in Taiwan, Barnes stated. Cheng attended the lunch along with his lately widowed mom.
Through the reception, a 68-year-old man recognized as David Chou entered and commenced capturing at folks, the sheriff stated.
Cheng launched into motion and tackled the person, permitting different church members to collectively disarm and detain him, the sheriff stated. The pastor, Billy Chang, struck the gunman with a chair, and others hogtied the person with an extension wire and took no less than two handguns from him, officers stated.
“That group of churchgoers displayed what we imagine is outstanding heroism in interfering or intervening to cease the suspect,” Undersheriff Jeff Hallock stated.
In a letter supplied to CNN from a parishioner, Chang referred to as for prayers for Cheng’s household, the congregation and people injured. The pastor described in harrowing element how the assault unfolded.
“We have been standing on the rostrum, taking images with mates, witnessing the shooter aiming and firing,” Chang wrote. At first, he thought it was a toy gun and the particular person was “enjoying a trick, no must take cowl.” As soon as he absolutely realized what was occurring, Chang stated the shooter was solely about 10-15 steps away.
Chang says he rushed from the rostrum and picked up a chair. He writes the shooter turned “to withstand my assault” and fell with the gun dropping by his aspect.
“To stop him from choosing up the gun, I pressed him and his hand with my physique, and calling loudly for assist,” he writes. 4 folks got here to help and used electrical cords as they couldn’t discover any rope.
To his “heart-breaking sorrow,” Chang noticed Cheng mendacity nonetheless on the ground with bullet wounds in his again.
Cheng’s choice to cost the suspect brought on the firearm to jam, Orange County District Lawyer Todd Spitzer stated.
“If that occasion had not occurred, in different phrases, if the gun had not jammed, that suspect, Mr. Chou, he was able to kill everyone in that church,” he stated.
Cheng sustained a number of gunshot wounds and was pronounced lifeless on the scene. 5 others have been harm: 4 males aged 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old lady.
Chou, the lone suspect, lived in Las Vegas and was a US citizen who immigrated from China years in the past, in keeping with Barnes. He had secured the doorways of the church from the within utilizing chains and tremendous glue, and he additionally had a bag of Molotov cocktails and a bag of additional ammunition, officers stated.
Officers described the assault as politically motivated and stated Chou was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan. He has been charged with homicide and 9 different counts, Spitzer stated.
Dr. Cheng, who leaves behind a spouse and two youngsters, together with one quickly to graduate highschool, labored as a household and sports activities medication doctor on the South Coast Medical Group in Aliso Viejo, California. The group didn’t reply to a request for remark.
In a 2012 YouTube video on his skilled web site, Cheng spoke in a relaxed and comforting tone about how his father’s work as a health care provider in a small city in Texas impressed him to affix the medical area.
“I noticed the care that my father imbued on his sufferers in a small group in East Texas, and I noticed the group rally round him and embrace him in the neighborhood, and I really like that,” he stated. “It’s these small-town values that have been ingrained in me once I was youthful that basically assist create this sense of group, and on this trendy society, in trendy instances, we miss a whole lot of that.”
“That patient-doctor relationship may be very particular, so that you get to know so much concerning the affected person, their household and the group they stay in,” he continued. “What’s lovely is that I stay in the identical group.”
He stated folks reacted positively to his customized bedside method.
“Sufferers will oftentimes are available and on the finish of the go to, they are saying, ‘You recognize what Dr. Cheng? You’re the primary physician that has really ever actually listened to me,’” he stated.
His deal with sports activities medication put him in contact with high-level athletes, weekend warriors and aspiring athletes, he stated. But, he all the time saved the deal with the significance of group.
“We’re planting seeds on this particular person’s coronary heart and of their thoughts on maintain themselves,” he stated. “Once they’re taking good care of themselves, they’re capable of maintain their household, which creates a extra optimistic household atmosphere, which then interprets into higher communities.”
Dr. Cheng had been a member of Kingdom Covenant Church in Orange County for over 12 years, Pastor Ira Angustain informed CNN.
“He was type, beneficiant and fun-loving. He liked God and his household with a ardour. My spouse and I and our church physique have been so honored to have Dr. John as part of our congregation. Dr. John made me a greater pastor, buddy, and particular person simply by having him in my life, this isn’t hyperbole,” Angustain stated.
Cheng had a beautiful smile and type demeanor, the pastor stated.
“I’m proud to say I used to be his pastor. He’s a real hero. Everybody wants a Dr. John of their lives,” he stated.
His sufferers equally praised him for his work within the physician’s workplace and on the church.
“He’s a hero right here at South Coast Medical Group, and he’s a hero in actual life,” affected person Amy Dowling informed CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.
Spitzer, the district legal professional, stated a mass in Dr. Cheng’s honor is ready for two p.m. Tuesday.
