By DAMIAN DOVARGANES CHRISTOPHER WEBER and DEEPA BHARATH, Associated Press

LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — A person opened hearth throughout a lunch reception at a Southern California church, killing one particular person and wounding 5 senior residents earlier than a pastor hit the gunman on the pinnacle with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords.

Jerry Chen had simply stepped into the kitchen of his church’s fellowship corridor round 1:30 p.m. Sunday when he heard the gunshots.

Chen, 72, a longtime congregant at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, peeked across the nook and noticed church members screaming, running and ducking underneath tables.

“I knew somebody was capturing,” he mentioned. “I used to be very, very scared. I ran out the kitchen door to name 9-1-1. ”

Officials mentioned the capturing ended after the gunman killed one man and wounded 5 senior residents earlier than worshippers hog-tied his legs with {an electrical} twine till deputies arrived. Four of the 5 folks wounded suffered crucial gunshot accidents.

While a motive for the capturing on the Geneva Presbyterian Church in the town of Laguna Woods was not instantly disclosed, investigators don’t consider the gunman — an Asian man in his 60s whose identify was not instantly launched — lives in the neighborhood.

Chen, who referred to as 911 from the church’s car parking zone, mentioned he was in such a state of shock that he was unable to inform the operator his location.

“I needed to ask another person for the tackle,” he mentioned.

Chen mentioned a gaggle of about 40 congregants had gathered in the fellowship corridor for a luncheon after a morning service to welcome their former Pastor Billy Chang, who had served the church for 20 years and was a beloved and revered neighborhood member. Chang retired two years in the past and moved again to Taiwan. This was his first time again stateside, Chen mentioned.

“Everyone had simply completed lunch,” he mentioned. “They had been taking photographs with Pastor Chang. I had simply completed my lunch and went into the kitchen.”

That was when he heard the gunshots and ran out.

Soon afterward, Chen mentioned he heard the main points of what occurred inside from others who got here out. Fellow congregants instructed Chen that when the gunman stopped to reload, Pastor Chang hit him on the pinnacle with a chair whereas others moved shortly to seize his gun. They then subdued him and tied him up, Chen mentioned.

“It was wonderful how courageous (Chang) and the others had been,” he mentioned. “This is simply so unhappy. I by no means, ever thought one thing like this might occur in my church, in my neighborhood.”

Most of the church’s members are aged, extremely educated Taiwanese immigrants, Chen mentioned.

“We’re largely retirees and the typical age of our church is 80,” he mentioned.

Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock praised the parishioners’ fast work to detain the gunman.

“That group of churchgoers displayed what we consider is outstanding heroism and bravado in intervening to cease the suspect. They undoubtedly prevented further accidents and fatalities,” Hallock mentioned. “I believe it’s secure to say that had folks not intervened, it might have been a lot worse.”

The capturing got here a day after an 18-year-old man shot and killed 10 folks at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

Laguna Woods was constructed as a senior dwelling neighborhood and later turned a metropolis. More than 80% of residents in the town of 18,000 folks about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles are no less than 65. The incident occurred in an space with a cluster of homes of worship, together with Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist church buildings and a Jewish synagogue.

The investigation was in its early phases, Hallock mentioned. He mentioned the various unanswered questions embrace whether or not the assailant attended the church service, if he was identified to church members and what number of photographs had been fired.

The majority of these contained in the church on the time had been believed to be of Taiwanese descent, mentioned Carrie Braun, a sheriff’s spokesperson.

Those wounded by gunshots included 4 Asian males, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian lady, the sheriff’s division mentioned. Authorities initially mentioned solely 4 of the 5 surviving victims had been shot.

Officials didn’t instantly disclose any data about the alleged shooter.

The afternoon lunch reception was to honor a former pastor of the Taiwanese congregation, in keeping with a press release from the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, a church administrative physique.

“Please hold the management of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they take care of the these traumatized by this capturing,” the presbytery’s Tom Cramer mentioned in a press release on Facebook.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s workplace mentioned on Twitter that he was carefully monitoring the scenario.

“No one ought to need to concern going to their place of worship. Our ideas are with the victims, neighborhood, and all these impacted by this tragic occasion,” the tweet mentioned.

On its website, Geneva Presbyterian Church describes its mission as “to recollect, inform, and stay the way in which of Jesus by being simply, form, and humble.”

“All are welcome right here. Really, we imply that! … Geneva aspires to be an inclusive congregation worshipping, studying, connecting, giving and serving collectively.”

Violence in homes of worship contains the deadliest capturing inside a church, which occurred in 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas, when a gunman opened hearth throughout a Sunday service at First Baptist Church and killed greater than two dozen folks.

In 2015, Dylann Roof fired dozens of bullets throughout the closing prayer of a 2015 Bible research session at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. Nine members of the Black congregation had been killed in the racist violence and Roof turned the primary particular person in the U.S. sentenced to demise for a federal hate crime. His enchantment stays earlier than the Supreme Court.

Weber and Bharath reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles additionally contributed to this story.

Associated Press faith protection receives assist via the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely accountable for this content material.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By STEVE OVERBEY, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols had an absolute blast. And not on the plate this time, both.

The longtime slugger made his first profession pitching look Sunday night time, closing out a 15-6 blowout for the St. Louis Cardinals over the San Francisco Giants that gave Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina the main league document for wins by a beginning battery.

Molina homered and drove in 4 runs, Wainwright tossed six efficient innings and St. Louis roughed up Carlos Rodón early. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado every added a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who took two of three within the sequence after dropping two of three to struggling Baltimore. Goldschmidt had three RBIs.

Pujols, the Cardinals’ designated hitter, entered to pitch within the ninth inning for the primary time in his 22-year profession. He gave up a three-run homer to Luis Gonzalez and a solo shot to Joey Bart however managed to get the ultimate three outs with loads of margin to spare.

“A dream come true to say that I did it,” mentioned Pujols, fifth on the profession listing with 681 dwelling runs. “It was enjoyable. It wasn’t enjoyable giving up two bombs. I feel the followers had fun. I’m positive the fellows that took me deep did, too.”

The 42-year-old Pujols turned the oldest participant to make his pitching debut since Lena Blackburne introduced himself in at age 42 in his last recreation as a participant/supervisor for the 1929 Chicago White Sox.

With the Cardinals forward by 13 and the result all however determined, Pujols overheard supervisor Oliver Marmol asking for somebody to throw the ultimate inning so the workforce may keep away from utilizing one other reliever.

“They have been trying and I used to be like, `I’Il do it. Why not?’” Pujols mentioned.

He took loads of good-natured ribbing from teammates.

“He’s obtained to maintain the ball down,” Molina screamed within the locker room.

Pujols had an evidence.

“The factor is, I couldn’t even get it there. Every time I attempted to maintain it down, I used to be bouncing it,” he mentioned.

LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out towards Pujols to finish it.

Wainwright and Molina broke the main league mark with their 203rd victory as a beginning battery. They handed Warren Spahn and Del Crandall, who amassed 202 wins for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves from 1949-63.

“It’s such an honor to be a part of this document,” Molina mentioned.

The duo has started 311 video games collectively for St. Louis, third all-time behind Spahn/Crandall (316) and Mickey Lolich/Bill Freehan (324) of the Detroit Tigers from 1963-75.

Wainwright and Molina have been drenched in almond milk and soda by teammates within the clubhouse.

“It’s a blessing that I get to do that with him for so long as we have now,” Wainwright mentioned.

Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer for San Francisco, which misplaced its second in a row after successful six straight.

Molina capped a four-run outburst within the first inning off Rodón (4-2) with a two-run single. The 39-year-old catcher added a two-run homer off reliever Zack Littell within the fifth to make it 11-0.

Wainwright (4-3) gave up two runs and three hits. He struck out 5 and walked two. The 40-year-old right-hander retired 14 of the primary 15 batters he confronted. Gonzalez obtained the Giants’ first hit with a two-out single within the fifth.

Rodón allowed eight runs and 10 hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had given up simply seven earned runs over his earlier six begins this season.

Every St. Louis starter had successful by the sixth inning. Pujols was 2 for 3 on the plate with a double. He scored twice and drove in a run.

St. Louis outfielder Juan Yepez singled within the first inning. He has reached safely in every of his first 11 video games, the longest streak by a Cardinals rookie since Luis Alicea went 23 successive video games to start his profession in 1988.

The Cardinals have been 0-4 in Sunday night time video games final yr earlier than successful of their first do this season.

Gonzalez got here in from the outfield to pitch within the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs. He gave up a run-scoring single to Dylan Carlson earlier than getting Harrison Bader to fly out.

“It was an excellent time, a wild night time,” Gonzalez mentioned. “That (homer) simply capped off the night time. Some fairly historic issues occurred to me on this recreation.”

Blackburne, an enormous league infielder from 1910-19, is healthier identified for one thing in addition to that pitching cameo in his 40s: Years later he took some muck from the Delaware River and developed Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, used all through the majors and minors for seven many years to rub up new baseballs earlier than video games and make them simpler to grip.

San Francisco RHP Yunior Marte was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and gave up two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings of reduction. INF Donovan Walton was despatched to Sacramento.

Cardinals RHP Alex Reyes has been shut down after experiencing extra shoulder soreness. Reyes, sidelined all season, felt discomfort once more whereas taking part in catch. He had an MRI final week and can stay inactive till the outcomes are identified. “Unsure if it’s the identical space,” Marmol mentioned. “But it’s shoulder discomfort.”

Giants: LHP Alex Wood (3-2, 3.60 ERA) will face Colorado RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-2, 4.88) within the opener of a three-game sequence at Coors Field on Monday. Wood didn’t permit an earned run over 5 1/3 innings in a 9-2 win towards the Rockies on Tuesday.

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (3-1, 1.49 ERA) faces the Mets within the opener of a four-game set Monday night time in New York — although a storm is within the forecast. Mikolas has allowed two runs or fewer in all seven begins this season. The Mets had not introduced a starter but.

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By DAVID BRANDT, AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX (AP) — It was no shock when Luka Doncic seemed prepared for Game 7, calmly draining his first three photographs to present the Dallas Mavericks an early lead.

The stunner came visiting the following two hours: The top-seeded Phoenix Suns had no response.

Doncic scored 35 factors, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Mavericks blitzed the Suns with a 123-90 knockout Sunday night time, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the primary time since 2011.

“Lots of people stated it might be a blowout,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd stated with a smile. ”They have been proper.”