Brazos Valley authorities had contact with a man who was arrested for weapons charges near the home of the vice president two weeks before he traveled to Washington, D.C., reports show.
On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, around 12:12 p.m., Second District officers responded to the Naval Observatory, home of the vice president, regarding a suspicious person based on an intelligence bulletin from the College Station Police Department.
That person was detained by US Secret Service.
Members of the Metropolitan Police Department arrested 31-year-old Paul Murray of San Antonio for carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
MPD says Murray was in possession of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition and five 30 round magazines.
According to the College Station Police Department Criminal Intelligence Bulletin, Murray began serving in the U.S. Army in 2010. He was a remote UAV (drone) operator at a base within the United States.
In April 2014, he was medically discharged.
In October 2020, CSPD says Murray came to the department's lobby to report he'd been drugged or poisoned on a recent trip to Japan. He told officers he had been discharged from the Army due to schizophrenia.
On March 1, 2021, Murray returned to CSPD's lobby. Authorities say Murray complained he was not getting enough support from the VA or local police. He said he was prescribed medication but he stopped taking it due to "intense" side effects.
Two days later, deputies with the Brazos County Sheriff's Office responded to a welfare concern at a residence in the 3700 block of Copperfield Drive in Bryan. Authorities say Murray thought he was attacked by a group called "3 Stones" while overseas. He said he did not want to hurt himself but he would hurt someone "if it was justified." Murray also mentioned that he owned an AR-15.
In a press release, BCSO said it had been in contact with Murray over the past two weeks at the request of family members due to his behavior.
No criminal violations were found, according to BCSO, but the sheriff's office "continued to monitor the situation because of concerning behavior and statements."
Deputies were told that Murray may have been traveling to Washington, D.C. BCSO then passed along that information to local and federal partners.