Congregation members grabbed and hogtied the man, whom Orange County authorities described as being of Asian descent and in his 60s.
One person was killed and five other people were injured in a shooting at a meeting of Asian churchgoers in Southern California on Sunday, authorities said.
Members of the congregation detained a suspect who appeared to be in his 60s by hogtying him with electrical extension cords, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said at an earlier press conference that congregants confiscated at least two handguns that were later seized by deputies.
The department Sunday night announced the man has been formally arrested in connection with the deadly attack. His name will be released when he’s booked into jail, it said in a statement.
Amid fears of another possible hate crime, the man in custody was described by law enforcement sources as also being of Asian descent. The description was later confirmed by Hallock.
Sheriff’s officials said as many as 40 people who belong to a Taiwanese church were at the facility when gunfire broke out.
The gunfire was reported at Geneva Presbyterian Church at 1:26 p.m. in the retirement city of Laguna Woods, about 20 miles southeast of Anaheim, the sheriff’s department said. Four victims suffered critical injuries, it said.
