A man accused of attempting to carry out a mass shooting at a megachurch in Prince William County, Virginia, was convicted on Thursday after a four-day federal trial.
According to a US attorney, this was a close call.
Rui Jiang is accused of three federal crimes, all related to a plot to attack Park Valley Church, which has approximately 1,000 members. Jiang has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorneys presented a pile of evidence to a federal jury, claiming it indicates Jiang planned to kill worshipers at Prince William County’s Park Valley Church on September 24, 2023.
Hours later, the jury convicted Jiang guilty of attempting to hinder a church’s members from freely practicing their religion.
Prosecutors claim Jiang planned a shooting 48 hours before he arrived for Sunday worship with a loaded gun and ammunition in his pocket.
Prosecutors informed the jurors Jiang purchased a semi-automatic rifle with 50 bullets. Before his arrival, he practiced shooting and photographed his weapons.
Prosecutors also said Jiang arrived at the church at 2 a.m. on the day of the service and drove around it to conduct surveillance. They also showed a photo they claimed Jiang took of his rifle pointed at a television with an image of a church, as well as a photo of him burning a Bible.
In different notes and social media posts leading up to September 24, 2023, the US Attorney stated that Jiang wrote:
- “I’m not going out until I kill or [expletive] somebody.”
- “I can’t wait to destroy God.”
- “I am here to target men and to deny men the life God actually denies me every day”
According to the prosecution, Jiang wrote that he would spare men who appeared lonely or hadn’t had sex in years, but “in the heat of the shooting, I might kill them anyway.”
According to the prosecutor, Jiang wrote that he wanted people to plead for one more kiss while they bled from bullet wounds. They also claimed Jiang emailed the church, stating, “Please revoke my membership. I’m done with this [crap].” “[Expletive] all of you.” “I hate all of you.”
The prosecutor said Jiang wrote about slaying men and apologized to their families in a final letter left at his house, adding, “I am sorry for what I have done and am about to do.”
According to authorities, Jiang searched online for techniques to jam 911 call centers the morning he went to the church, and he wore an earphone to listen to a police scanner while there.
When Jiang came, prosecutors said he walked in through the back entrance near the children’s care center, and the church’s volunteer security guard spotted Jiang acting unusually and approached him.
According to a prosecution, Jiang was tapping on the church’s glass to determine whether it was bulletproof.
Before Jiang went to the church, a lady he used to date noticed Jiang’s troubling social media posts and phoned 911.
A detective testified. Jiang remained in the chapel for around 20 minutes until a police officer arrived and asked him questions.
Jiang’s public attorney claimed that his social media posts and communications were a cry for help in which he was venting and that Jiang did not shoot anyone. The public defender also informed jurors that an expert testified that it is not uncommon for people to fantasize about mass shootings but not actually carry them out.
The public defense informed the jury that they could not convict Jiang for what might have transpired. For example, Jiang’s public defender stated that Jiang once wrote about shooting his neighbor through the walls, but he did not do it.
The public attorney told the jury that Jiang’s behavior at the church indicated he was not there to perpetrate a shooting.
In their argument, a prosecutor stated that Jiang did not request help from the church, but that the church did provide him assistance.
Prosecutors claimed Jiang arrived at church with the incorrect service times on his calendar because the church had changed its service times two weeks before his visit.
Prosecutors stated the new service times disrupted Jiang’s preparations to conduct a shooting.
Prosecutors said Jiang’s calendar listed service times of 9 and 11 a.m. However, the Sunday service times changed on September 10, 2023, to 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11:30 a.m.
Jiang faced the following charges:
- Count 1: Attempted obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs
- Count 2: Use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
- Count 3: Transmitting interstate on foreign commerce and threat to injure the person of another
When Jiang returns to court on June 18, he faces up to five years in prison.