Man arrested near VP’s home had rifle
A Texas police bulletin warned Washington, D.C., authorities to be on the lookout for a decorated Army veteran who suffered delusional episodes and might be armed with an assault rifle.
The tip led Secret Service agents and Washington Metropolitan police to arrest former San Antonio resident Paul Michael Murray, 31, near the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
A search of Murray’s car turned up an AR-15 rifle, 113 5.56caliber bullets and five magazines that each hold 30 rounds of those bullets, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Neither Harris nor her husband, Doug Emhoff, live at the vice presidential residence, located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory, because the home is undergoing renovations. Harris and Emhoff have been living in Blair House, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Murray was charged with 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.
The Metropolitan Police Department said officers responded shortly after noon Wednesday to the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington “in reference to a suspicious person based on an intelligence bulletin that originated from Texas, who was detained by U.S. Secret Service.”
The Texas police bulletin said Murray might be experiencing a mental health crisis and was believed to be armed. It included a photo of him, along with descriptions of cars he might be driving and a Texas license plate number.
“Subject has been experiencing paranoid delusions of people, mainly the military and government being after him and want to kill him,” the bulletin said. “He recently purchased an AR-15 and may have it in his possession. Mother received a text from (him) this morning stating he was in Washington DC and was going to take care of his problem.”
The arrest was the latest troubling episode involving Murray, who had moved from San Antonio to Bryan.
The Brazos County Sheriff ’s Office said it had been in contact with Murray over the past two weeks at the request of family members “due to his behavior.”
“There were no criminal violations found, but our agency continued to monitor the situation because of concerning behavior and statements, as well as information that Murray may have been in possession of weapons,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Murray had been known to authorities in the Bryan-College Station area since at least October 2020.
An internal intelligence memorandum by the College Station Police Department said Murray received a medical discharge from the Army in 2014 and suffers from schizophrenia. He began his service in 2010, the memo said.
On March 2, Murray walked into the police department lobby and complained that he was not receiving enough support from the Veterans Administration or police, the memo said.
The memo said he had been prescribed medications but had stopped taking them because of side effects.
On March 3, Brazos County sheriff ’s deputies went to Murray’s apartment in Bryan to check on him, according to the same memo. It said Murray thought he had been attacked by a group called “3 Stones” while overseas.
The memo said that in October, Murray again went to the College Station police department “to report that he’d been ‘drugged’ or ‘poisoned’ on a recent trip to Japan. Stated he was discharged from the Army due to schizophrenia, and owns firearms in his apartment.”
“Stated he didn’t want to hurt himself, but might hurt someone else ‘if it was justified,’ ” the memo said. “Mentioned owning an AR-15.”
In a statement, the Army said Murray served as a specialist and was an operator of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, from March 2010 to April 2014.
He had no deployments, but was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon and the Aviation Badge.
The Army did not say where he was stationed.
A spokesperson for Texas A&M confirmed Thursday that Murray enrolled for the 2020 fall semester for six course hours but withdrew and did not complete the semester.
Relatives of Murray did not respond to calls seeking comment.