Motive sought in attacks at retreat
Korean religious group in shock
TEMECULA, Calif. - Investigators said a 69-year-old Korean Christian volunteer went on a deadly rampage at a retreat run by those dedicated to serving the poor and homeless, killing a woman and wounding her husband.
Police said John Chong shot the fellow resident to death Tuesday night and wounded her husband before being disarmed during a struggle with another couple.
Chong had lived at the Kkottongnae Retreat Camp for about a year as a volunteer after moving from the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood. The two couples attacked also were resident volunteers.
Detectives, having trouble piecing together exactly what happened because many witnesses speak only Korean, were unable to immediately determine a motive.
"We have no evidence that this was a domestic dispute. We do not have a motive or reason for this incident," sheriff's Sergeant Michael Lujan said yesterday.
The retreat, about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles, is marked by a simple white sign along a two-lane road that winds through the hills of the Temecula wine country.
Investigators alleged that Chong, who lived alone in a bungalow, had gone to the first couple's bungalow and shot the woman once in the head with a .32-caliber revolver, killing her instantly, Lujan said. Her husband was then shot in the torso.
Chong then went to a second bungalow about 300 yards away and attempted to shoot the second couple, but they fought him off in what appeared to be a violent and extensive fistfight, Lujan said.
Two shots were discharged from the revolver during the brawl, but no one was hit.
"From all accounts it was hand to hand," Lujan said. "There was physical evidence that a significant altercation had occurred."
Chong was hospitalized in serious condition with trauma to his face and remained unconscious. No relatives of his had been located.
The man who was shot was hospitalized in serious condition. The couple hurt in the fistfight also remained hospitalized, though their injuries were not serious, sheriff's Captain Mitchell Alm said.
The area is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino. Bishop Gerald Barnes asked for prayer for the victims. "In these troubling times when we are seeing so many acts of senseless violence, we must hold God's peace and grace in our hearts and ask for his strength to bear these tragedies," he said in a statement.
Lujan said about 100 people were staying on the retreat property, but he wasn't sure how many were residents and how many were visitors.
The retreat has eight or 10 bungalows spread across three or four acres.
The retreat also allows recreational vehicles, and has a lecture room, a prayer room and a conference room.
Yesterday morning, people trying to get to the retreat were turned away by sheriff's deputies guarding the entrance.
Victor Nam, 59, of Diamond Bar, went to the roadblock after hearing of the violence. He said he was close friends with the couple who were shot, adding that the husband is 59 and the wife was 58. He said they had an adult daughter.
Nam said the couple immigrated from South Korea in 1987, became US citizens and lived in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance before moving to the retreat five years ago.
"They are very faithful. They devote themselves to God. They are very nice people and I couldn't believe this happened," he said.
The retreat is one of four US branches of the Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus, a Roman Catholic organization dedicated to serving the poor and homeless. It was founded in the city of Cheongju, South Korea, by Father Oh Woong Jin in 1976.
Kkottongnae means "flower village" in Korean.
The camp will be closed for the next month "as we come to terms with Tuesday's events," said a statement from Sister Thaddeus Suh, community supervisor for the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus, a Korean order that operates the retreat. 