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Fatal shooting at Temecula religious retreat center
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Fatal shooting at Temecula religious retreat center
Fatal shooting at Temecula religious retreat center
Authorities in the Temecula Valley are still trying to determine why an elderly man opened fire on worshipers at a Korean religious retreat last night. One woman died and several people including the gunman were injured. KPCC's Steven Cuevas has the latest.
Steven Cuevas: Authorities have identified the suspect as 69-year-old John Chong, a volunteer who lives at the Korean Catholic retreat center. The motive for the shooting is unclear.
Chong allegedly shot one woman dead, then shot and wounded another man. Two other people also sustained injuries when they tried to subdue the gunman.
Dennis Gutierrez: It was a pretty violent confrontation where all three were injured.
Cuevas: Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Dennis Gutierrez says the shooting occurred after nightfall in a remote part of the Temecula Valley where the retreat center is located.
Gutierrez: There was no area to really look at the injuries, just what the eye could see, because we didn't know if we still had a shooter in that dark surrounding. So we just grabbed the wounded and left. It wasn't until hours later that we found out we had only two gunshot wounds.
Cuevas: The alleged gunman remains in a hospital. Authorities do not know if he is an American citizen or a Korean national. Investigators are piecing together information with the help of Korean language interpreters. All the victims are believed to be over the age of 40.
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The Catholic retreat center, known as "Flower Village," is run by a Korean order of nuns called the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus. The retreat's supervisor says it'll remain closed until the staff could come to terms with the tragedy.
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