Police surround cathedral after gunman opens fire

Children had to be evacuated from a day-care centre when a gunman walked into a US cathedral and opened fire.

No-one was injured in the incident at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, southern California, but a police SWAT team has surrounded the cathedral after the gunman holed himself up in an office, threatening to kill himself.

Police declined to identify the man except to say he was a full-time cathedral employee, a member of its choir and in his 50s.

“He’s threatened to commit suicide if we come into the office or we disclose any information about him,” said police Lt. Mark Handfield.

Police talked by phone with the man for several hours before losing contact with him when they shut off power to the cathedral complex. The man had been watching the drama unfold on the local television news, and authorities feared that might lead him to harm himself, Handfield said.

“We’re just going to wait and see how things go,” Handfield said. “He’s despondent. He’s talking about hurting himself.”

Police didn’t know what prompted the gunfire. The man fired about four shots from a handgun, but it wasn’t clear if he was trying to hit anybody.

The gunfire erupted less than two hours before the cathedral’s annual “Glory of Christmas” holiday show was to begin. Some 100 people had been preparing for the performance.

The cathedral, a sprawling structure not far from Disneyland, is home to the Reverend Robert Schuller’s international Crystal Cathedral Ministries and claims a congregation of more than 10,000 members.

Schuller, who was at home when the shooting occurred, came to the command post police set up near the cathedral and taped a personal message for the man, with whom he is acquainted.

Schuller expressed confidence the matter would be resolved peacefully.

“We have one of our persons that really needed help and I want to tell you that it’s under control, that’s the good news,” Schuller said. “We believe it will come to a very safe conclusion.”