CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / TEMECULA

Investigators said Thursday they have interviewed two victims injured Tuesday during a shooting rampage at a Korean religious retreat near Temecula but have not yet established a motive for the violence that left one dead and four injured, including the gunman.

Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesman Dennis Gutierrez said deputies interviewed Joseph Kim, 69, and his wife, Julina, 65, who both suffered “significant facial trauma” during a violent struggle with John Chong, the retreat’s handyman, who is accused of attacking them shortly after shooting two other people at the Kkottongnae site.

Gutierrez said the motive for the attack is still unclear. On Wednesday, a friend of Chong said the handyman was upset that others weren’t doing their fair share of the work.

Also on Thursday, authorities released the recording of a 911 call by a man who wailed he was dying after being shot. The man, according to the Associated Press, groaned in agony and told a Korean translator he believed as many as seven or eight people had been shot. In fact, only two were shot.

Chong, 69, is accused of killing Chuneui Yun, 58, and then shooting her husband, Jong Pil Yun, 58, who is expected to survive. Jong Pil Yun was identified by authorities Thursday as the 911 caller.

Deputies said Chong then attacked the Kims, firing two shots from a .32-caliber revolver, but the couple fought back, using a barbell to bludgeon him into unconsciousness. A sheriff’s spokeswoman said the Kims were released from the hospital Thursday.

Chong, who friends say had no wife or children, remains in the hospital and has not yet been interviewed by investigators, Gutierrez said.

He is facing charges that include one count of homicide, three counts of attempted homicide and a charge for illegal weapons violation, Gutierrez said.

Kkottongnae means “flower village” in Korean.

-- David Kelly