Virginia man found guilty of hate crime for church shooting attempt

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A Virginia man was convicted yesterday of hate crime after a shooting attempt at a church in the town of Haymarket in Prince William County.

Following a four-day trial, on Thursday, March 6, a federal jury ruled a guilty verdict for Rui Jiang of Falls Church for attempting to obstruct congregation members of a church in Haymarket.

According to the Department of Justice, the charge included Jiang's attempt involved using a "dangerous" weapon and the attempt to kill. He also faces charges for carrying out threats online and a firearms violation. Jiang was found guilty on all counts.

Based on evidence from the trial, the defendant started posting threats to the church online with clear intentions to kill the congregants on the evening of Sept. 23, 2023. The next day police began looking for Jiang in response to reports from concerned citizen's about his posts.

Police officers found Jiang inside of the church's front entrance while the Sunday services were going on. Church volunteers that were concerned about Jiang's state of being, approached him just as the police arrived.

The Department of Justice confirmed that Jiang was armed with a semiautomatic handgun that had two fully loaded magazines of ammunition, as well as 34 rounds of ammunition in the car.

After law enforcement searched Jiang's apartment, they discovered five copies of a letter, all of them signed in ink by Jiang, which in part read, "“To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do (sic).”

On Sept. 24, 2023, Prince William County Police arrested Jiang and he has been detained since that date. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years to a maximum of life in prison. A sentence hearing is scheduled for Jiang on June 18.

A federal district court judge will determine the sentencing after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, as well as other statutory factors.