Authorities have charged a member of a Burnet church's security team, following reports of “shots fired” at the venue on Sunday.
Since the incident unfolded communities were on edge to the point where local schools heightened security on campuses.
BCSO reported the incident in Burnet unfolded on Sunday, Oct. 6, at approximately 10:30 a.m., when deputies responded to the Church at the Epicenter, 2401 N. U.S. 281 after a “check welfare” call into dispatch.
According to BCSO dispatch, “a male subject called 911, stated the address above, requested police and then disconnected.
“Upon the arrival of law enforcement, it became clear that shots had been fired, and that all of them came from a member of the Church’s volunteer safety team,” the BCSO statement read. “The safety team member stated that he confronted 2 suspicious males outside the church, one of whom presented a rifle.
“The safety team member fired multiple rounds causing both males to enter a white minivan and flee the scene, driving north bound on U.S. 281.”
Authorities reported that there were “no known injuries at this time.”
By Monday afternoon, Oct. 7, investigators turned their probe towards a church congregant.
“In the course of this investigation, the safety team member who had fired the shots admitted that he had fabricated significant details of this incident and had lied to law enforcement and others about this incident,” the BCSO statement read. “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 statement continued.
“As a result of this false story, the safety team member, Jacob Wayne Tarver (age 45, of Burnet County) has been arrested and charged with False Report to Induce an Emergency Response(a Class A Misdemeanor), Tampering With Or Fabricating Physical Evidence (a 3rd-Degree Felony), and Deadly Conduct (a 3rd-Degree Felony). He was jailed in the Burnet County Jail and is awaiting a magistration hearing to set bail.”
BCSO worked cooperatively with a number of state and federal agencies on the investigation into this incident.
