A man wearing only boxer shorts who scaled a four-story church in Boyle Heights Wednesday night and appeared to set a cross on fire was taken into custody.
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 man 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 appeared to burn out without the threat of spreading to the rest of the building.
The man also appeared to kick a second statue in an attempt to knock it over.
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The man evaded police by jumping from rooftop to rooftop and swinging on cable lines. He was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m.
Copyright City News Service
