A 61-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of threatening the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Chula Vista, police said.
The man allegedly called the H Street church about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and threatened to hurt people who were planning on attending an All Saints Day Mass. Four such services were scheduled for Thursday, authorities said.
Chula Vista officers identified Thomas Escajeda as a suspect and arrested him about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of making criminal threats. It’s unclear what led investigators to Escajeda.
The Chula Vista resident had been a registered church member for more than a year and had attended Mass at least a couple of times, authorities said. Police do not know Escajeda’s motives for the threat and believe he acted alone.
About 7,000 families and about 15,000 people regularly attend the church.
Kevin Eckery, a spokesman for the Diocese of San Diego, said the church chose to close its school — the St. Rose of Lima School — as a precaution on Thursday, which also prompted them to cancel the 10 a.m. All Saint Day Mass, which was going to be for children.
The remaining Thursday masses will be held as scheduled, Eckery said.
Full story at San Diego Union-Tribune.
That’s a Catholic church? It looks like a Kiwanis Club Hall or Elks Lodge.
Some of the Church “architecture” today comes from the minimalist and mid-50s-modern fad. The Cathedrals in Los Angeles and San Francisco are tributes to this silliness too.
If the facts support the charge, this may be a hate crime.