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Gunman Fires Inside Crystal Cathedral

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Times Staff Writers

An employee of the landmark Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove fired four shots inside the giant church complex Thursday and threatened to kill himself after police cornered him in a ministry office, authorities said.

Police negotiators, accompanied by the employee’s wife and church founder the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, talked to the man late into the night in hopes he would surrender. He had barricaded himself inside a basement office shortly after the shooting, which occurred about 4:45 p.m.

“The situation is under control and the proper people are communicating with him,” said Schuller, who taped a message that police were to deliver to the man. “No one is in danger.”

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The Times is withholding the name of the employee at the request of the police, who say the man has threatened to kill himself if he is identified by the news media. His motives were unknown.

No hostages were taken and no bystanders were hurt in the incident, which occurred as the church prepared for two evening performances of its annual “The Glory of Christmas” pageant, a nativity spectacle that draws audiences of more than 2,000 per show.

As the events unfolded, scores of people were waiting in line outside the cathedral to attend the 6:30 p.m. show.

Hearing shots, at least five cathedral employees hid inside their offices in the church’s administrative wing until police could escort them to safety. A day-care center on the grounds was evacuated.

Hundreds of cars were lined up outside the grounds as police worked feverishly to set up a perimeter. Church officials canceled the 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. performances, and police waved off would-be spectators.

“We’ve never had anything like this happen before. We are saddened and we are praying,” said Michael Nason, a spokesman for Schuller. “We are foremost a church. We are about people.”

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Schuller started his Southern California ministry in 1955 at the Orange Drive-In theater. Over the years, he developed it into one of the nation’s first mega-churches with his upbeat messages that connected the power of positive thinking with Christianity.

The Crystal Cathedral’s 40-acre campus on Chapman Avenue off the Garden Grove Freeway serves about 8,000 worshipers for weekend services. In addition, more than 1 million viewers worldwide watch the services on Schuller’s “The Hour of Power” television show.

That exposure annually brings to the church a half-million visitors who want a firsthand look at the Crystal Cathedral, a towering building made of steel and more than 10,000 panes of glass.

Richard Kinsey, an actor who participated in the Christmas pageant last year, said he was shocked to hear about the shooting.

“They are a tremendous bunch of people” at the church, he said. “I can’t imagine who would want to harm them.”

Police sealed off the church about 5 p.m. Thursday, about 15 minutes after receiving reports that a man had fired four gunshots in the sprawling complex.

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They said they quickly cornered a man with a handgun in a basement office near music practice rooms. When the man threatened suicide, authorities brought in a negotiator.

Police quoted the man as saying at one point that he would shoot himself if his name became public. The suspect was described as a white man in his 50s.

“He is despondent and talking about doing himself harm,” said Lt. Mike Handfield, a police spokesman.

Meanwhile, authorities evacuated the cathedral grounds and set up a security perimeter, cordoning off the area and surrounding streets with yellow tape.

Handfield said that Thursday was family night, and church officials had expected about 5,000 people to attend both Christmas shows. They were turned away as they arrived, creating traffic jams in the neighborhood.

On Lewis Street, next to the church, groups of people waiting to see the pageant huddled below the shining edifice. They were told that the evening performances were canceled.

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“That’s a shame. My mom is here from Iowa and thought it would be nice to come and see” the show, said Bill Townsend, 64,of Rancho Santa Margarita.

Ben Shelby, 55, of Apple Valley and his wife and three children were planning to see the pageant for the first time Thursday.

“We heard there was a man with a gun and a hostage. We heard there were shots fired,” Shelby said.

“We were just waiting for them to cancel the show, and they did. It’s disappointing.”

Times staff writers Dan Weikel, Sara Lin, H.G. Reza, Stuart Pfeifer, William Lobdell, Christine Hanley and Jeff Gottlieb contributed to this report.

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