Man Seen Waving Cross In Traffic In His Underwear Possibly Linked To Church Fire: Officials

NEWHALL (CBSLA) - A man who was reportedly wearing only his underwear and seen waving a cross at drivers in Newhall was taken into custody Thursday after allegedly starting a fire at a nearby church.

Deputies received a call just before 9 a.m. about a possible fire at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene along the 23000 block of The Old Road, according to Santa Clarita Sheriff's officials.

Los Angeles County Fire crews responded to an initial report of smoke in the church, but when they arrived the fire was already out, authorities said.

A short time later, another call came in reporting a person holding a cross and waving the object at drivers on The Old Road and on the 5 Freeway. A deputy spotted the suspect on foot along the Freeway near Calgrove Road, according to officials.

He was then detained and taken to the Santa Clarita Sheriff's station for processing. The southbound 5 Freeway was briefly shut down during the incident, according to CHP.

Investigators believe he may have started a small fire at the church, stole the cross from the church and then proceeded into traffic.

SKY2 was over the church earlier Thursday and spotted a number of police cars parked out front.

Images and video posted to Facebook appeared to show the suspect in handcuffs wearing only his underwear.

In one video, the unidentified man is heard telling the camera, "They've been trying to kill me for years now...seriously look me up online, I'm on the internet, Facebook and Google Plus" before a deputy placed him into a sheriff's patrol car.

It wasn't immediately clear what charges the suspect faced following his arrest.