Possibly armed man taken into custody at church near school in Orange County

A man was taken into custody inside a church after he was reportedly spotted with a gun near a school in Placentia.

According to the Placentia Police Department, officers responded to a call for service regarding a possible gunshot being fired in the 700 block of North Bradford Avenue across from Valencia High School around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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“A male subject was seen with what appeared to be a handgun,” Placentia police said on Instagram.

Several nearby schools, including Valencia High School, Kraemer Middle School and Ruby Drive Elementary School, were all advised to temporarily shelter in place.

Officers were able to track the suspect down to St. Joseph Catholic Church, located across the street from Valencia High, and took him into custody during the middle of mass.

Part of the mass was being livestreamed, and video obtained by KTLA shows that the commotion caused by police when detaining the man interrupted the Communion ceremony.

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As the priest says “Blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb,” shouts from police officers can be heard in the background ordering the man to get on the ground.

The priest, who appeared visibly confused, then gingerly placed the chalice on the altar as his parishioners put their hands up at request of the police.

“During the mass, I heard a commotion at the back, so I turned around and saw the SWAT officers [take down] the guy who was sitting a couple of rows behind me,” parishioner Imelda Craig said.

Law enforcement officials confirmed what many witnesses said they heard.

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“From what I gathered from our detectives, they seem very credible,” Placentia Police Department Sgt. Joe Connell told KTLA 5 Orange County Bureau Chief Chip Yost. “There were multiple witnesses who reported hearing a gunshot.”

“After we took [the suspect] into custody, we evacuated the church and did a protective sweep to make sure there were no outstanding suspects and that no one was injured inside,” Connell continued.

Mass was allowed to proceed as usual after officers were unable to find a gun inside the church, authorities said.

A large perimeter was set up around the neighborhood to look for the gun, but as of 1 p.m., no weapon had been recovered.

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