A Burnet County church became the center of an alarming situation on Sunday when reports suggested a potential security threat that later turned out to be fabricated. According to CBS Austin, 45-year-old Jacob Wayne Tarver was arrested after he reportedly fired shots and made a false report surrounding an alleged encounter with two men outside the Epicenter Church on Highway 281.
The incident prompted a large-scale response from law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Ranger Service and the DPS Aircraft Division. Tarver claimed to have confronted two men, one allegedly armed with a rifle and reported that they fled the scene in a white van. This narrative, however, was debunked through questioning by local law enforcement and the Texas Rangers. In a statement obtained by CBS Austin, Sheriff Calvin Boyd clarified, "There were no hostile actions taken or directed at the church by any persons, and no weapons brandished toward the church or the safety team member."
Both the community and local authorities were affected by the false report, as fear rippled through the town. In an interview with KXAN, Kyle Byrd, Senior Leader of the Church at the Epicenter, expressed his dismay over the situation, "I am devastated," Byrd said. "I reported what I was told, but I believed it, and it caused harm to our community, and we’re sorry for that, as much as we can be for what we knew."
Meanwhile, the church and its leadership sought to come to terms with the deceit they had unwittingly propagated. "We weren't aware any more than they were aware at the time that this story was not true," Byrd told KXAN.
Tarver now faces charges including making a false report to induce an emergency response, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and deadly conduct, and is currently being held in the Burnet County Jail, as detailed by CBS Austin.
