Man Robs 20 Visitors of $5,000 at Temple

A masked man burst into the Garden Grove temple of an obscure Vietnamese sect Saturday night, shooting a gun into the air before robbing about 20 female worshipers of about $5,000 in cash and jewelry, police said.

The women had gathered for a Mother’s Day service at the small, incense-scented temple when the gunman entered and began shouting in Vietnamese for the women to “get on the ground. This is a robbery!” police said.

The man then scooped up a bunch of purses and wallets and left.

Sunday, police said the secluded and unlikely location of the Mother Goddess Temple of the Sam Mountains probably meant the gunman knew one of the worshipers.

The temple, tucked into a remote corner of an industrial park in the 10700 block of Capital Avenue, is surrounded by garment factories and electronics warehouses.

“It’s unusual in Garden Grove for a robbery to occur at a place of worship,” said Sgt. Bob Bowers. “Unless you knew there was a church there, you wouldn’t happen upon it.”

Despite the previous night’s violence, the mood in the small, nondescript gray building Sunday was calm. The robbery was not discussed by the visitors who came to the temple to pray at four small shrines. Incense and red candles burned at each of the shrines, laden with pyramids of oranges and mangoes.

“If some people do something wrong, bad things, they will be punished by the gods,” said Thien Tam, 71, a teacher at the temple. The temple-goers, mostly women, belong to a sect worshiping a goddess known as the Lady of the Sam Mountains, which is in the southern part of Vietnam. The women believe that the goddess has the power to fulfill their wishes. During worship, they believe the spirit of the goddess enters them, and they celebrate by going into trances and dancing, Tam said.

Two women who came to pray Sunday bowed at each of the four shrines and placed donations in a tall red box.

“We are surprised, that’s all,” said Anh Vu, 45, a Garden Grove resident who has been going to the temple for two months.

Despite the incident, Tam said there are no plans to increase security or cut back the temple’s hours. The temple is open 11 to 12 hours daily, he said.

Times staff writer Tini Tran contributed to this report.