Austin police arrest gunman en route to church

AUSTIN, Texas — A man dressed in tactical gear and in possession of a gun was arrested after police said he told them he was on his way to an unidentified church to fulfill a prophecy.

Just before 7 a.m. Sunday morning, Seguin, Texas, police officers responded to a call about a man carrying a gun, the department said in a news release.

According to police, an off-duty Seguin officer saw 33-year-old Tony Dwayne Albert wearing tactical style clothing and a surgical face shield and carrying a loaded firearm with extra ammunition. An investigation revealed Albert was “allegedly enroute to unidentified church to fulfill what he called a prophecy,” police said.

Albert was arrested and charged as a felon in possession of a firearm and was transported to Guadalupe County Jail. He also was charged with possession of marijuana, police said.

“The Seguin Police Department is extremely grateful to the citizen who called police,” Officer Tanya Brown said in the news release. “If this subject was not stopped and apprehended, the results could have ended differently.”

The San Antonio Express-News reported that public records show Albert has a lengthy criminal history. He’s been arrested at least six times in Harris County on various charges dating back to 2009, when he was 24. He was convicted in four of those cases for driving while intoxicated, possession of marijuana under two ounces, assault of a family member causing bodily injury, and most recently, disarming a police officer.

Albert, who pleaded no contest to disarming a police officer, according to the Express-News, is currently on two years’ probation as part of a plea bargain agreed upon by the Harris County district attorney’s office.