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Police: Armed man threatened to kill people at church
Fort Worth police arrested a man accused of threatening to kill people in a church. When they searched him and his truck, they found numerous weapons.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police arrested a man accused of threatening to kill people in a church after he reportedly killed a dog outside the church earlier that day.
This started mid-morning Wednesday, when police said someone called 911 to report a dead dog in Jefferson Unitarian Church’s community garden. Officers responded and found shell casings and a rifle near the deceased dog.
Later that day, at about 4:30 p.m., police got another 911 call from the church.
This time, someone reported a man inside the church holding a shotgun and making threatening statements about killing people.
Officers found 26-year-old Roman Collins standing near a gun inside the church on Sandy Lane, south of Interstate 30.
Collins was immediately detained.
"It’s a little nerve-racking to hear that’s what happened. I didn’t know that’s what it was at all, I was not aware," Blake Burlingame said.
Burlingame was at his sister’s home nearby and saw the commotion. He was surprised to hear what police have revealed.
Investigators said, after a search, they found Collins had multiple weapons, not only the shotgun, but a handgun with several loaded magazines, a large, fixed blade style knife, medical equipment, and a water canteen.
His truck was parked outside the church.
Police said, inside the vehicle, officers found a rifle converted to use handgun magazines.
"I am a gun owner. You have to keep yourself protected, but I am at a loss for words right now. I don’t really know what to say," Burlingame said. "That’s not what I expected to come out here and hear. I wasn’t sure what went on, I actually thought it was a medical emergency or something, so like I said, that’s sketchy."
Public records show Collins is from Wisconsin, but has a local address at an apartment complex about a mile from the church.
A Fort Worth PD SWAT team searched his residence with the help of the FBI and ATF.
The investigation is ongoing.