FALLS CHURCH, Va. — New federal court documents revealed the suspect accused of plotting to shoot up a church in Prince William County in September wanted to target men in relationships.
In letters found inside his Falls Church apartment after his arrest, Rui Jiang, 35, of Fairfax County, said, “I am here to deny the love lives by God to these lucky men, by taking out these men.”
"I want them to know what it's like to be me – to labor through yearning for that romantic love and never obtaining it,” the letter read. “To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do.”
The case against Jiang was moved to federal court on what was supposed to be a scheduled preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Since the federal government is pursuing the case, state charges have been dropped, according to chief public defender Tracey Lenox.
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Jiang faced several charges including aggravated attempted murder of multiple persons after he reportedly showed up to Park Valley Church in Haymarket armed with a gun.
On Sept. 24, 2023, church security said he appeared to walk around looking for cameras and testing out the thickness of the glass atrium in the middle of service.
Meanwhile, an officer received the alert about Jiang after a tip came from Fairfax County Police about concerning and threatening social media posts about the church, which included posts of burning a Bible, photos of being outside the church, and pointing a gun at a screen with a church on it.
The officer and church security stopped Jiang in the lobby. Police said they found a loaded semiautomatic pistol, an additional magazine, a folding knife, and a folding “credit card” style knife.
An affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said detectives obtained a search warrant and found the letters, later described by Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis as a manifesto. He claimed to be a political assassin for the government for more than a decade.
The letter stated, “despite my faith even in my worst of days – nothing has changed. My mental health continues to deteriorate. I am not allowed to be in love. To experience love. To experience a romantic relationship.”
Investigators said according to emails sent to himself, Jiang also added, “Any man who looks obviously lonely or probably haven't sad sex in years – I will spare. But then again, in the heat of the shootings, I might kill them anyways. Blood is on your hands. Not mine.”
Jiang started to attend the church about five months prior to the incident. He denied intending to hurt anyone.
The church staff said a day earlier, Jiang sent several emails with profanities to request a refund for his donation to the church because he believed his life “went downhill” since the pledge.
In the letter, he claimed what he was about to do was not religiously motivated.
When asked if he was competent, Lenox said Jiang had “great defenses.”
He was transferred to the jail in Alexandria and could appeared in federal court on Wednesday.