A man is in police custody after he reportedly threatened to torch a local place of worship.
A police affidavit obtained by KENS 5 alleges that Luis Eduardo Hernandez went to St. Pius X Catholic Church on the city’s North Side and told staff, “It will burn, I’ll make sure it burns.”
Father Pat O’Brien, the church’s priest, told the news station that Hernandez had gone into St. Pius X previously and asked to meet with him.
“We tried to work with him, and from the very beginning [he seemed] a little bit unstable,” O’Brien told KENS 5.
Later, Hernandez reportedly began sending O’Brien harassing messages in which he claimed God had sent him as an emissary.
When Hernandez threatened the church Tuesday, O’Brien said he took a picture of the suspect driving away in his truck. The photo captured his license plate number.
Police were able to track down Hernandez and take him into custody that same day. He’s since been charged with making a terroristic threat.
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This article appears in The Burger Issue 2020.
