Half Naked Man Scales 4-Story Church To Set Fire, Jumps Rooftops

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man wearing only boxer shorts and a single sock scaled a four-story church in Boyle Heights Wednesday, appeared to set a bell on fire, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop while swinging on cable lines to evade police. It was a futile rooftop police chase — the man was taken into custody a short time later.

Los Angeles Fire Department units responded at about 8:25 p.m. to St. Mary's Catholic Church at 407 S. Chicago St. on reports of a possible jumper on the roof who appeared "to be trying to light the building on fire," according to the department's Margaret Stewart.

The fire on top of the church bell tower appeared to burn out without threat of spreading to the rest of the building, according to reports from the scene. The man also appeared to kick a second statue in an attempt to knock it over. He paced back and forth across the church rooftop before fleeing.

The suspect evaded police by jumping from rooftop to rooftop and swinging on cable lines.He appeared to injure himself when he landed on the rooftop of a nearby home, according to ABC7.

He entered an apartment briefly, forcing residents to flee the building. None of the occupants were harmed, CBS2 reported.

"The suspect managed to force entry into a residence located at 2100 block East Fourth Street by smashing a window," said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Mike Lopez. "Officers helped the people inside get out."

Officers got the man to come down and he was taken into custody just before 10 p.m., Lopez said. He was booked for suspicion of arson and burglary hot prowl but his name was not immediately released.

Authorities did not release information about the man's condition nor his motive.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles was taking stock Thursday of damage to the four-story St. Mary's Catholic Church in Boyle Heights damaged by a man in boxer shorts who allegedly set the bell tower on fire before being taken into custody.

"The church building incurred some damage, including fire damage to the roof of the bell tower and some broken stained-glass windows, but thankfully no one was in the building at the time," said Archdiocese spokeswoman Itzel Magana. "The parish is currently assessing the extent of the damage."

The parish has been part of the Boyle Heights community more than a century, Magana said

City News Service contributed to this report.