The case is being updated.
Several people are said to have been shot in Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California. according to local police one person must be killed and four critically injured. The sheriff’s office in Orange County moved out with large forces, according to Los Angeles Times.
The police reported the shooting episode around 11 pm Norwegian time.
A person must have been arrested in connection with the incident, in addition, a weapon that may have been used has been seized, the sheriff’s office informs Twitter.
Witnesses detained the perpetrator
Carrie Braun, spokeswoman for Orange County Police, said they were investigating the background to the shooting. The suspect is said to be a man in his 60s who did not live in the area, the police say according to AP. He must have an Asian background.
About 30 people witnessed the shooting at and in the Geneva Presbyterian Church, a police spokesman said. Most in the church are believed to be of Taiwanese origin. The shooting is said to have taken place during a memorial service for a former pastor, reports ABC.
– CHURCH: It was at the Geneva Presbyterian Church that the shooting took place Photo: Leonard Ortiz / AP
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Other churchgoers are said to have taken control of the man and looked after him until the police arrived. Police say that the churchgoers showed heroic efforts when they stopped the suspect. They must also have confiscated two weapons from the suspect, and tied him up.
– The people showed an exceptional heroism by intervening and stopping the suspect. They no doubt prevented more people from being killed and wounded. I think I can safely say that without the intervention, things would have been much worse, says Deputy Sheriff Jeff Hallock.
Dispatch received call of a shooting inside Geneva Presbyterian Church at 1:26pm. Four victims have been critically wounded , one with minor injuries. All victims are adults and are enroute to the hospital. One victim is deceased at the scene.
— OC Sheriff, CA (@OCSheriff) May 15, 2022
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The shooting happened just a day after an 18-year-old man shot and killed 10 people in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
199 mass shootings so far this year
So far this year, there have been 199 mass shootings in the United States, according to the online archive The Gun Violence Archive.
The site defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people were injured or killed.
Last year, there were 693 mass shootings in the United States. This is the highest number since gunviolencearchive started logging in 2014.
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