Parishioners Jittery After Dorner Threats Shut Down Arcadia School

ARCADIA (CBSLA.com) — A Catholic elementary school in Arcadia was quiet Monday night after classes were canceled through at least Wednesday.

KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen reports the closure of the campus of Holy Angels School comes after the church's pastor called police saying a member of his family was named in a manifesto linked to triple homicide suspect Christopher Dorner.

One parishioner who didn't want her face shown said she's worried for Father Michael Evans.

"He's a very good priest," the woman said. "I'm worried about my community."

Over the weekend, Evans sent out an email saying "as a safety measure for our community I have asked to have an increased police presence for our campus."

Neighbor Melinda Brogan noticed the extra patrols the other morning while taking a walk at 4:45 a.m.

"They just were slowly coming down and they put their spotlight as I was walking up the sidewalk," said Brogan.

Dorner is accused of three murders as retaliation for his firing from the LAPD.

One young woman outside Holy Angels - who asked not to be identified - said while she doesn't support killing innocent people, she does believe Dorner was framed when he lost his job.

"In every system, there is corruption, and if it's not exposed, it just grows and grows," the woman said.

"That's the sad part about this is that the kids are getting affected with it," said Arcadia resident Chegel de la Cruz. "They can't go to school. They can't learn because of the threats and that's a tragedy."

Police on Monday evening issued a statement that read, "The Arcadia Police Department has been involved in ongoing communication with Holy Angels Parish and School officials. We will continue to provide directed patrols during school and church events."

And for one parishioner who said she's been praying a lot lately because her son is set to leave for the Navy, she's now adding her own pastor – her spiritual leader – to her thoughts.

"The whole parish, we're going to be praying for him," she said.