The armed church member who claimed he shot at an armed attacker outside a Burnet, Texas, church fabricated the whole story, according to the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
Breitbart News reported that an armed churchgoer, part of the church’s “volunteer safety team,” dialed 911 about 10:30 a.m. and when authorities arrived he told them he had fired shots at two suspects, one of whom had a rifle.
KWTX reported that on Monday, following a day of investigation, the BCSO announced that the churchgoer admitted to making the story up.
The BCSO said, “There were no hostile actions taken or directed at the church by any persons, and no weapons brandished toward the church or the safety team member. At no time was the safety of the congregation in jeopardy.”
The churchgoer, identified as Jacob Wayne Tarver, 45, of Burnet County, is now charged with “false report to induce an emergency response, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and deadly conduct.” Two of the three charges are felonies.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: awrhawkins@breitbart.com.