Alleged gunman sent diary to newspaper before church attack
The man accused of opening fire on a Southern California church congregation because of his political hatred for Taiwan dubbed himself a “destroying angel” in a seven-volume diary sent to a newspaper before the attack, the paper said.
David Chou, 68, spent $16.10 to mail seven thick photocopied volumes of handwritten Chinese text and a flash drive to the World Journal office in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, according to photos published in the Chinese-language paper.
The pages bore the title: “Diary of an Angel Destroying Independence” in an apparent reference to Taiwan’s self-government. The Chinese Communist Party continues to demand Taiwan reunify with China.
The diary pages were received Monday, one day after Chou allegedly opened fire at a lunch gathering of elderly parishioners at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in the community of Laguna Woods.
The newspaper didn’t report the contents of the diaries and nobody there apparently read through them before sending them to the police through the paper’s attorney, said an employee who declined to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak openly.
Investigators were aware of the reports that the journals were sent to the newspaper, according to Orange County sheriff’s spokesperson Carrie Braun. She did not know if the sheriff’s department or FBI had taken possession of them as yesterday [Macau time].
Chou could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of murder and attempted murder. He has not yet entered a plea and remained jailed without bail in Orange County pending a June 10 arraignment.
The shooting shook Southern California’s Taiwanese community.
“I am starting to worry about our people,” Dr. Simon Lin, a leader at the Taiwan Center Foundation of Los Angeles, said at a news conference. “The Taiwan Center is very friendly. It’s open to the public. We never check your background.”
The small community center lacks the budget to hire full-time security, he added.
Louis M. Huang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, said he has confidence in U.S. law enforcement to carry out the investigation and that justice would be served.
He called on Taiwanese Americans to respect differences in opinion but said no one has a right to infringe on other people’s rights or to take someone’s life.
He urged community members to report to the police if they see something that concerns them.
“Don’t keep silent,” he said. MDT/AP
