BURNET COUNTY, Texas — An arrest has been made following reports of a shooting at a church in Burnet County on Sunday.
According to the Burnet County Sheriff's Office, a thorough investigation revealed that details of the incident were significantly "fabricated."
Court documents say 45-year-old Jacob Wayne Tarver, a safety team member at the Church at the Epicenter, recklessly fired three shots at a home and pond near the church, then lied to law enforcement about the incident.
Tarver allegedly admitted to police that "he made up the story" about someone walking near the church and firing "warning shots" to scare them away. According to the affidavit, Tarver said he made up the story to "embellish" what he did and lied to authorities at the scene, during a walkthrough investigation and during his polygraph interview.
The investigation determined there were no hostile actions taken or directed at the church by anyone, and no weapons were displayed toward the church safety member. The congregation's safety was also never in jeopardy, according to authorities.
Tarver told authorities he was "embarrassed" for not telling the truth. He was then arrested and charged with misdemeanor false report to induce an emergency response, felony tampering or fabricating physical evidence and felony deadly conduct.
Tarver remains in the Burnet County Jail and has not had a bond set.
The sheriff's office has asked the public to share the update about the false report to counteract "the rumors and speculation surrounding this case."
"It really, it affects the community as much as anything," Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd said. "There's enough going on in the world – we don't have to have people making things up."
The pastor of the Church at the Epicenter posted on social media claiming the incident was a terroristic threat to their building but declined to speak with KVUE on camera until the investigation was complete.
Burnet County sheriff deputies told KVUE they have questioned the pastor, but he is not under investigation at this time.
What happened?
Deputies were called out to the church after a man requested police before hanging up.
They determined a member of the church's volunteer security team fired "multiple shots" at two suspicious men outside of the church who presented a rifle. The safety team member told authorities the men entered a white minivan and fled the area by driving north on U.S. 281.
Multiple agencies responded to the incident, including the Lampasas Police Department, which said it had called in additional staff and supervision to patrol the city and churches. Some school districts in the area also received extra security on Monday.
"We heard from, you know, the state, we heard from Austin, we even heard from the White House, you know. Because this is the kind of – this really gets everybody's attention now. And so it was a big deal, was a real waste of assets," Boyd said.
On Sunday night, the church posted a statement on social media, thanking the "thousands of people, churches, & ministries from across our city, state, nation & the nations" who reached out after hearing about the incident.