Walmart mass shooting by man with ‘extremist ideologies’ is thwarted, Texas cops say

A week long investigation led to the arrest Friday of a man who had plans for a mass shooting at a Walmart, Texas officials say.

Coleman Blevins, a 28-year-old man from Kerrville, was charged with making a terroristic threat. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office says federal charges are possible against Blevins, who is believed to hold “extremist ideologies.”

The sheriff’s office teamed up with the Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI in its investigation. Authorities intercepted a message in which Blevins indicated he was preparing for a mass shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.

He made a specific threat toward Walmart in the message, but it’s unclear which Walmart location he was referring to, the sheriff said. Authorities quickly moved to arrest Blevins when they found out he was capable of committing the attack.

Investigators found guns and ammunition at Blevins’ home, as well as radical ideology paraphernalia that included books, flags and handwritten documents, the sheriff said.

One of the books shown in a picture released by the sheriff’s office was “The Turner Diaries,” which was published in 1978 by the leader of the neo-Nazi National Alliance.

Blevins was believed to be acting alone and Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said he “wanted to die for the cause by taking out some people at a Walmart,” KENS reported.

“This 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,” Leitha said in a statement on Facebook “Our investigators did outstanding work in this case, and possibly saved many lives. The plot interrupted in this case is unthinkable.”

Blevins has been put in the Kerr County Jail on a $250,000 bond, the sheriff said. He was serving a felony probation and was not allowed to have guns at the time of his arrest.

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Walmart mass shooting by man with ‘extremist ideologies’ is thwarted, Texas cops say."