Man accused of carrying out California church shooting pleads not guilty

David Chou has been charged with killing one person and wounding five at Presbyterian church meeting in Laguna Woods

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  Hector Gomez and Jordi Poblete, worship leaders at the Mariners Church Irvine, leave flowers outside the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California. AP

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  An Orange County Sheriff's Department officer guards the grounds of Geneva Presbyterian Church. AP

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  A K-9 unit checks the grounds. AP

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  A police officer removes yellow tape from the crime scene. AP

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  Crime scene tape is stretched across the exterior of the Geneva Presbyterian Church. AP

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  Investigators walk outside the Geneva Presbyterian Church. AP

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  Orange County Sheriff's Department Undersheriff Jeff Hallock takes questions from the media. AP

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  A man opened fire during a lunch reception at the Southern California church on Sunday before he was stopped in what the official called an act of 'exceptional heroism and bravery'. AP

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  Police patrol the church grounds. AP

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  Police said the shooting left one person dead, four critically wounded and one with minor injuries. Getty Images / AFP

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  A law enforcement source said the gunman had sealed the doors to prevent parishioners from escaping. Getty Images / AFP

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  The pastor hit the gunman with a chair when he paused to reload his weapon, said one parishioner. Reuters

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  Coming on the heels of the shooting in Buffalo, New York, the event in Laguna Woods has left the community shaken. EPA

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  The gunman's motive remains unclear and officials said they do not know whether the incident was hate-related. Reuters

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  All of the shooting victims were Asian American. The Orange County Register / AP

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  The Geneva Presbyterian Church. Reuters

A Las Vegas, Nevada, man pleaded not guilty in a California court on Friday after being accused of killing one person and wounding five others in a shooting at a Taiwanese Presbyterian church meeting.

David Chou was ordered to be held without bail by Orange County Superior Court Judge Cynthia M Herrera.

David Chou, accused of carrying out a shooting rampage at a Laguna Woods church, makes his first in-person appearance in court in Santa Ana, California. AP

Mr Chou has been charged with murder with an enhancement for a hate crime in the killing of a 52-year-old doctor who tried to stop the attack on a May lunch gathering of largely older members of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church.

He is also charged with five counts of attempted murder.

Authorities have said Mr Chou was motivated to attack the gathering of churchgoers in Laguna Woods due to hatred of Taiwan that stemmed from the years he lived on the island as a boy after his family was forced to leave mainland China.

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  Police tape blocks off the scene of a shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California. Getty Images

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  Jeff Hallock, of Orange County Sheriff's Department, takes questions from the media outside the church, where a man opened fire during a lunch reception before he was stopped in what the sheriff's office called an act of 'exceptional heroism and bravery'. AP Photo

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  An Orange County dog unit checks the grounds outside the scene of the shooting. AP Photo

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  Police vehicles are parked near the scene of the shooting in which at least one person was killed. AFP

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  Police officers arrive at a press conference after the shooting, which also left four people critically injured. AFP

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  The fatal shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church took place only one day after a gunman had killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York state. Reuters

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  Police at the scene in Laguna Woods, California. AFP

During his arraignment, Mr Chou appeared in a caged section of the courtroom wearing thick glasses, a face mask and yellow jail jumpsuit.

Mr Chou spoke with the assistance of a Mandarin interpreter using a headset.

At times, he told the judge in English he couldn’t hear through the headset and was unsure what she wanted him to do. She repeated her questions, which the interpreter relayed and he responded through the interpreter.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment after the hearing and so did Mr Chou’s lawyer.

He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on October 21.