Man opens fire outside California church

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A man with a rifle opened fire near a church Saturday morning in the San Fernando Valley and wounded three people, Los Angeles police said.

Fernando Diaz Jr., 33, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said Los Angeles Police Officer Ana Aguirre. He was held in Van Nuys jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

"I don't really have too much to say about that. It's a personal thing between me and the church," Diaz said to The Associated Press before being taken to jail.

When asked if he has an issue with the church, Diaz responded: "The church has an issue with me."

Diaz is the father of a student who goes to the church school, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.

A second victim was in stable condition and a third was in critical condition, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said. Watch police on the scene »

The man in critical condition was shot in the chest. He is 45. Another man, 47, was struck in the leg and is in stable condition, reported KTLA. The names of the victims have not yet been released.

"We believe this is an isolated incident, a domestic-violence dispute," said police Capt. Steven Ruiz.

Authorities said Diaz was on parole for an unspecified crime, and a restraining order was in place to prevent him from being near the school, his son and wife.

The Rev. Robert Milbauer, the parish's pastor, told AP that about 50 people, mainly church volunteers and their children, were setting up food and game booths and carnival-style rides when the gunfire erupted.

"I was walking toward the festival area to say an opening prayer and I saw them," Milbauer told AP of the shooting victims.

"I heard bang, bang, bang, bang. It sounded like balloons popping," said Jeff Sempelsz, a church volunteer speaking to AP. "I didn't know what it was but I could see the rifle in his hand."

William Griffin, a security guard at the festival, was standing near the entrance. "I heard someone yell, 'Somebody's shooting. Somebody's shooting.' I turned and saw a man with a long rifle. He was very calm," Griffin told AP.

The guard said he herded people into the church, then began locking the doors. The man who had been shot in the leg calmly limped in with the others, Griffin told AP.

The suspect was reloading his weapon when he was tackled by several witnesses who were volunteers at the festival. The shooter put up a fight, struggling and taunting people as they were trying to subdue him. KTLA said the suspect and the weapon were taken into custody near the church, St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish in the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles.

The call about the shooting came in around 10:57 a.m. PT (1:57 p.m. ET), KTLA said.

The festival was shut down for the day, and Milbauer told AP that grief counselors were meeting with witnesses, particularly the children. The parish plans to go ahead with the festival on Sunday, Milbauer said, in part to help parishioners put the tragedy behind them.

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