Multiple People Shot, One Dead, at Laguna Woods Church, Says OC Sheriff

Multiple people have been shot, with one killed, at Geneva Presbyterian Church on the 24000 block of El Toro Road in Laguna Woods on Sunday, according to the Orange County Sheriffs’ Department.

OC Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said deputies got a call shortly after 1 p .m.

“At about 1:26 this afternoon, deputies got a call to this presbyterian church here … they arrived and discovered 5 victims – 5 injured victims – and one fatally wounded male as a result of gunshot wounds. Deputies arrived and took a suspect into custody pretty quickly thereafter. And at this point the investigation is currently ongoing,” Hallock told reporters near the church around 3:30 p.m.

Sheriff officials first publicly reported the shooting at 2 p.m. through Twitter.

Four of the five wounded people are in critical condition, according to a tweet from the OC Sheriff’s Department.

The church holds a 10 a.m. service on Sundays for the Taiwanese community, according to its website.

“There was a large number of Taiwanese people inside of the church, but as far as the type of church service or if they were having service, I don’t have those details,” he said.

One person was detained by deputies and they also confiscated a weapon that may have been involved, according to the sheriffs.

El Toro Road is closed between Calle Sonora and Canyon Wren, with the sheriffs department asking people to stay away from the area.

A spokesperson for the OC Sheriffs Department did not reply to requests for comment by Voice of OC.

This is a developing story, check back for more updates.

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC Reporter and Report for America corps member, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @NBiesiada.

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