LAPD and the local fire crews got an unusual call Wednesday evening. St. Mary’s Catholic Church thought they had bats in their belfry. Actually, they were infested with an apparently drug-crazed lunatic who had a few bats in his own belfry and was trying to burn the place down. The arsonist certainly thought he could fly, leaping rooftop-to-rooftop like he was Batman, with police in pursuit. He’s now in custody.
Batman of Boyle Heights
Police are happy to have the wannabe Batman in custody, with nobody injured and no shots fired. They had to send a chopper after him because when they first encountered him, the suspect was on the roof of the four-story cathedral.
Los Angeles firefighters were called because he had already set one cross on fire and was attacking a second. The incident started just before 8:30 Wednesday evening, July 7.
Reportedly, the “flames on the cross at the top of the bell tower appeared to burn out without threatening the rest of the structure.” Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department issued one of the first statements.
“LAFD is on scene with LAPD at a four story building with an adult male on the roof. The person appears to be trying to light the building on fire.” That was before they knew he thought he was Batman.
As noted by various reports, the suspect “was shirtless, wearing only underwear and a single sock as he walked back and forth on the church’s roof.” That’s when Batman decided to fly for his freedom.
“He then started to jump from roof to roof as police attempted to apprehend him.” There’s video from various angles including from a witness which “shows the man apparently injuring himself when he landed and yelled in pain as he laid on the roof of a nearby home.” He got back up though.
Dangling from the power lines
As the so-called “Batman” tried to make his desperate escape, he pulled some more of the “don’t try this at home” moves. A local news chopper has spectacular footage of the suspect “dangling from power lines” scrambling along them hand over hand to reach another perch.
Luckily for him they were well insulated. Once he got down another level, he “began to wander around the exterior of buildings in the neighborhood.”
Eventually, Batman forced his way into an apartment around 10:15 p.m. The unit had been occupied but fast thinking officers evacuated the family out one side while the suspect was breaking in on another.
Police managed to corner him there and take him into custody without further incident. Dazed local residents had been watching the drama unfold for hours out their windows.
“He went across and he was trying to take off the cross in the front of the building, and he was trying to light it on fire, but since it wasn’t lighting on fire he just tried to leave and he almost slipped,” Mariana Delarosa relates.
“I think it’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve lived here my whole life.” Batman was “transported to a hospital to be treated for his injuries.” Authorities note he was talking but don’t say whether he was lucid or not.