Planned mass shooting at a Walmart stopped by arrest of Texas man, authorities say

Authorities in Texas arrested a man accused of plotting to carry out a mass shooting at a Walmart, and a search of the suspect’s home turned up firearms, ammunition and materials officials described as “radical ideology paraphernalia.”

Coleman Thomas Blevins, 28, was arrested Friday in Kerrville and has been charged with making a “terroristic threat to create public fear of serious bodily injury,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Sunday.

Investigators said they intercepted a message from Blevins on Thursday indicating he was “preparing to proceed with a mass shooting,” and that the threat included Walmart. Blevins was taken into custody the next day.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Secret Service, FBI and Kerrville Police Department all assisted in the operation, reports CBS San Antonio affiliate KENS-TV.

Authorities searched his home and, according to the release, “firearms, ammunition, electronic evidence, concentrated THC, and radical ideology paraphernalia, including books, flags, and handwritten documents were seized.”

Blevins is on felony probation and wasn’t supposed to have guns, the release said.

He was booked into the Kerr County Jail in Kerrville, a city about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio.

KENS said a photo released by the county sheriff’s office included white-supremacist paraphernalia authorities say was found in the home:

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told KENS the case “reminds us that we need to always be vigilant. Many think ‘that can’t happen here’, and it was well on the way to happening.

“Our investigators did outstanding work in this case, and possibly saved many lives. The plot interrupted in this case is unthinkable. We appreciate the assistance of all our law enforcement partners.”