Gunman kill one churchgoer in California; culprit caught, hog-tied

Laguna Woods (California), May 16 (AP) A man who killed one person and wounded five others, as he opened fire during a lunch reception at a church in Laguna Woods, Orange County in Southern California on Sunday, was stopped and hog-tied by parishioners, PTI reported.

A sheriff oficial said that the parishioners did an act of 'exceptional heroism and bravery'.

Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries during the violence at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the city , Orange County Sheriff's Department officials said.

The suspect in the shooting, an Asian man in his 60s, was in custody and deputies recovered two handguns at the scene, Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said.

Those around could not attribute the act to any motive immediately, but investigators suspect that the gunman was one from outside the local community.

The majority of devotees inside the church at the time were believed to be of Taiwanese descent.

Thirty to forty members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church were gathered for lunch after a morning church service when gunfire erupted shortly before 1:30 pm, officials said.

The hog-tied gunman was under the control of the parishioners and was handed over to the sheriff deputies.

"I think it's safe to say that had people not intervened, it could have been much worse."

Information about the person who was killed was not immediately released.

The investigation was in its early stages, Hallock said.

He added that it was not clear whether the assailant attended the church service, if he was known to church members and how many shots were fired.

Laguna Woods was built as a senior living community and later became a city. More than 80% of residents in the city of 18,000 people about 80 kilometres southeast of Los Angeles are at least 65.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said on Twitter that he was closely monitoring the situation.