Senator Dave Min Condemns Hate Motivated Mass Shooting Against Irvine Taiwanese Parishioners

LAGUNA WOODS, CA — Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) issued the following statement in response to new information that yesterday’s mass shooting in Laguna Woods is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a federal hate crime.

“What happened yesterday to Taiwanese parishioners is traumatic and devastating to the entire Orange County community. The third mass shooting in three days, this attack was meticulously thought out and, as we are learning, could have been much more severe in light of new information that the gunman had not only locked the church doors but was armed with high caliber weapons and Molotov cocktails.

This mass shooting raises the concern that we are fighting a battle on two fronts: the rise of gun violence and the rise of hate crimes both here in Orange County and across America. It is time we put a stop to this nightmare. The political and ethnic divisions that fueled this mass shooting must be a call to action for all of us to come together and heal divisions through dialogue and shared understanding. We cannot allow the crisis of hate to go unchecked while extremists take up arms against our communities.

I also want to express my deepest condolences to the family of Dr. John Cheng whose heroic actions saved dozens of lives. We must honor Dr. Cheng’s legacy by building bridges across racial, ethnic, and religious lines to make sure that this type of tragedy never happens again.”
 

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Senator Min represents California State Senate District 37, which is located in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park.