A doctor’s devotion to helping others is being hailed as the ultimate sacrifice following the horrifically tragic shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, on Sunday afternoon.
John Cheng, MD, 52, of South Coast Medical Group in Aliso Viejo, was attending a lunch banquet at the Geneva Presbyterian Church with his mother when a 68-year-old man chained the doors shut and opened fire on a group of elderly parishioners.
Cheng, a prominent sports medicine physician, acted quickly and heroically, tackling the suspect, which allowed church members to detain him, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
Cheng sustained multiple gunshot wounds when he intervened and succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind his wife and two children, as well as devastated colleagues at his practice, who referred to him as a protector, according to ABC 7.
“Officials said that were it not for the actions of Dr. Cheng, there most certainly would have been many more lives lost,” said the California Medical Association in a statement issued a day after the shooting.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said that five other victims sustained gunshot wounds and were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The suspected shooter, who is in custody and being charged with murder and attempted murder, allegedly drove from Las Vegas to attack the church, at which members of the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church have had a space since 2009.
The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, since the suspect was reportedly upset about political tensions involving China and Taiwan, the sheriff’s department noted.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer praised Cheng’s actions during a press conference.
Cheng understood that there were a large number of parishioners at risk, Spitzer said. He charged across the room, and did everything he possibly could to disable the assailant. “He sacrificed himself so that others could live,” he added.
Don Barnes, the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, concurred, noting that “there is no doubt that Dr. Cheng’s actions that day saved the lives of many other church members. He is a hero and will be remembered by this community as such.”
In their statement, the California Medical Association addressed the ongoing public health threat from gun violence in the U.S.
“Our nation continues to be plagued by an epidemic of gun violence,” they wrote. “Physicians as healers are often on the front lines of these tragic events, treating the wounds of the victims of gun violence.”
“Policies to prevent such senseless tragedies are long overdue,” they continued. “An overwhelming majority of Americans support common sense gun reforms. We cannot stand idly by while more innocent victims are struck down by weapons that have no place on our streets. We must demand action and bring some sanity to our nation’s gun laws.”
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
