Placentia police officers rushed into St. Joseph Catholic Church to arrest a suspected gunman sitting in the back pews, a weapon was not recovered. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News on Jan. 16, 2024.
Tense moments were caught on camera when a search for an armed man interrupted mass at an Orange County church.
Video of the mass, which was livestreamed, showed a visiting pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia pause during the Tuesday morning service as the sounds of a commotion are heard in the background. Rev. Steve Correz remained calm at the altar as police stormed in to take down a suspected armed man who was seated in a rear pew.
"I was a couple of rows in front of the guy," said Imelda Craig. "I heard a commotion at the back, so I turned around and saw all these officers."
Video showed parishioners with arms raised as police shouted at the suspected armed man, who police said matched a description of a man provided by 911 callers. They told police the man ran into the church on Bradford Avenue.
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People were escorted out of the church as officers took the man into custody and searched for evidence of a shooting. No shell casings or weapons were found at the church.
After police cleared the scene, Rev. Correz continued the mass.
"His demeanor and the way he handled everything -- from the moment during the consecration, the evacuation and the investigation, once we were allowed to come back into the church, to be able to continue mass -- he was amazing," deacon Nick Sherg said of Rev. Correz, who was visiting from Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Fullerton.
