A man who intended to carry out an attack on a North Texas church has been arrested in White Settlement, according to an incident report from the Fort Worth Fire Department. Police found the man in the Texas suburb parked in a van filled with firearms and live explosives.
The suspect has yet to be named by authorities because he has been hospitalized since his detainment and police have not yet been able to charge him formally. White Settlement police say, however, that he will be charged upon release with possessing prohibited weapons, unlawful carrying of a weapon, and resisting arrest, search, or transport.
On Tuesday, November 26, at around 5:30 AM, White Settlement police received a call from a resident on Jason Lane reporting a suspicious white van in the area (gotta keep an eye on those white vans). Officers arrived on the scene to find a visibly disturbed man inside the vehicle who seemed to be experiencing a mental health crisis. According to police, the man had a handgun in his lap and what appeared to be an explosive device on the passenger seat.
After making initial contact and speaking with the man for a bit, officers were able to get him out of the van, quickly distancing him from the weapons.
According to authorities, officers detained the suspect immediately and called the Fort Worth Fire Department Bomb Squad to examine and ultimately remove the explosive devices found in the van. Inside the vehicle authorities also found an AR-15 equipped with a magnified optic, a 9mm AR-Style pistol with a drum magazine, a Smith & Wesson M&P handgun, additional magazines and ammunition and body armor.
According to an incident report CBS News Texas was able to obtain from the Fort Worth Fire Department, bomb squad personnel determined that three of the eight explosive devices found in the van were “indeed destructive devices.”
It’s not clear which church the man wanted to target in North Texas or the existence of a motive outside of a mental episode, according to reports. Police say, however, that the suspect has family members who live in the neighborhood where he was found parked in his van, although the suspect himself is from Oklahoma.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the ATF are assisting local authorities with the investigation, and there is a possibility additional federal charges may be filed.
Thankfully this situation ended before anyone could be seriously hurt thanks to a vigilant resident who knows his neighborhood well enough to spot a suspicious vehicle, and hats off to the local police who defused the scene without incident.
