GARDEN GROVE : Crystal Cathedral Is Smoke-Bombed

A smoke bomb forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people attending a Good Friday service at the Crystal Cathedral, one day after another smoke bomb went off during a live religious broadcast at a Tustin studio.

Police said a man in his late 30s or early 40s walked into the Crystal Cathedral at about 12:30 p.m. Friday, attached a white satchel to the back of a seat in the rear of the auditorium and walked away.

A security guard who saw what the man had done followed him, police said.

“When the man saw our security staff person follow him, he started to run,” said Crystal Cathedral spokesman Michael Nason. The security guard chased the man, but “became more concerned about the satchel” and went to investigate it, Nason said.

“He unstrapped the bag and took it outside, and that’s when it started to ignite,” Nason added.

Church officials halted the service and evacuated the audience. They “weren’t aware that there had been a problem, but for safety reasons we thought it was best to evacuate,” Nason said. Services the rest of the day continued on schedule.

When police arrived at the church, at 12141 Lewis St., they found “fumes and a yellow liquid” coming from the device, Garden Grove Police Sgt. Ken Whitley said. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad was called to dispose of the device.

On Thursday, at 7:16 p.m., a man also left a white bag at the Trinity Broadcasting Network studio in Tustin. Shortly after he placed the bag on a table near the audience and left, a device inside it detonated, filling the studio with smoke.

One member of the audience grabbed the bag and carried it to the street.

Trinity Broadcasting Network, which operates KTBN-TV Channel 40, is one of the largest owners of low-power television stations in the nation.

Police said they had no leads as to who may have placed the smoke bombs in either building or why.

“The relationship between the two incidents is unknown at this time,” Whitley said. He said both incidents were being investigated for a link.

Nason said church officials have “no idea” who might have left the smoke bomb. “Nothing like this ever happened at Crystal Cathedral,” he added.

Nobody was injured in the incident Friday. But on Thursday at TBN, 15 people were sent to hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation.