Pastor hit church gunman over the head with chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords

A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a Southern California church, killing one person and wounding five senior citizens before a pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords.

One person has been detained and two weapons recovered, Orange County Sheriff’s Department said on its Facebook page.

It is understood the shooting took place at the Geneva Presbyterian Church.

According to the authorities the alleged shooter, an Asian man in his 60s, had attended a lunch at the church before he stood up and started firing.

The man was swiftly overpowered by parishioners who hogtied him and grabbed his two handguns, before police even arrived at the scene.

Jerry Chen had just stepped into the kitchen of his church's fellowship hall around 1:30 p.m on Sunday when he heard the gunshots.

Chen, 72, a longtime congregant at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, saw church members screaming, running and ducking under tables.

"I knew someone was shooting," he said. "I was very, very scared. I ran out the kitchen door to call 911."

Officials said the shooting ended after the gunman killed one man and wounded five senior citizens before worshippers hog-tied his legs with an electrical cord until deputies arrived. Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries.

The bravery of the parishioners was praised by the authorities who said their intervention prevented further injuries.

There was no indication of the motive for the attack.

The majority of those inside the church at the time were believed to be of Taiwanese descent, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff's spokesperson.

Those wounded by gunshots included four Asian men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian woman, the sheriff's department said. 

The afternoon lunch reception was to honor a former pastor of the Taiwanese congregation, according to a statement from the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, a church administrative body.

"Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for the those traumatized by this shooting," the presbytery's Tom Cramer said in a statement on Facebook.

The office of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, tweeted: “No one should have to fear going to their place of worship.”

"No one should have to fear going to their place of worship. Our thoughts are with the victims, community, and all those impacted by this tragic event," the tweet said.

On its website, Geneva Presbyterian Church describes its mission as "to remember, tell, and live the way of Jesus by being just, kind, and humble."

"All are welcome here. Really, we mean that! . Geneva aspires to be an inclusive congregation worshipping, learning, connecting, giving and serving together."

The town, in Orange County, has a population of just over 16,000, with the majority living in Laguna Woods Village, a private gated retirement community.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been nearly 200 mass shootings – in which four or more people have been shot – in the USA already this year.

This was the second mass shooting at a California church in a matter of months.

In February, a man killed his three children and another adult before turning the gun on himself at a church in Sacramento.