USA: Shooting at a church in Orange County, California

The shooting happened at the Geneva Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods, where 16,000 residents live. This is a retirement community for people 55 and older dating back to the 1960s.

According to Reuters, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said on Twitter all the victims were adults and had been taken to the hospital. One victim died at the scene.

The scene of the shooting in Laguna Woods, California. Photo: Reuters

Authorities in the state of California have not released any statements about a motive in connection with the church shooting.

Investigators were present at the scene on May 15. Photo: Reuters

On the same day, the Harris County sheriff’s office said two people were killed and three injured in another shooting at an outdoor fair attended by thousands of shoppers in Houston, Texas.

According to the sheriff’s office, the shooting appeared to have stemmed from an altercation between five men. Two people died at the scene while three others were in critical condition and taken to hospital.

According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, no “innocent bystanders” were injured. Authorities said at least two pistols were confiscated.

Investigators believe that one of the hospitalized was among the shooter and that two other suspected shooters were arrested at the scene. All of the people involved are male in their 20s and appear to know each other.

First responders arrive at the scene of a shooting in Houston, Texas. Photo: ABC 7.

The Houston shooting occurred a day after Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white man, shot dead 10 people and wounded three at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York state on May 14.

Local officials believe the massacre was motivated by racial hatred against people of color.

Payton Gendron is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail. Photo: AP

A preliminary investigation revealed that Gendron had repeatedly visited websites that advocated white supremacist ideology and race-based conspiracy theories.

The young man also delved into the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand and the man who killed dozens of people at a summer camp in Norway in 2011.