Friend of man accused of fabricating story about shooting at Burnet County church speaks out

BURNET COUNTY, Texas - A Burnet County man is behind bars after police say he made up a story about armed suspects after firing shots near a church on Sunday.

A friend of the suspect spoke to FOX 7 Austin, saying he was shocked to hear the news.

"There’s enough going on in the world, we don’t need people making things up" is the message from Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd following an incident on Sunday morning.

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It all started at around 10:30 a.m. Oct. 6 when police responded to the Church at the Epicenter just outside of Burnet for a welfare check following a 911 call. The church service was interrupted by a member with an announcement.

"During worship, there were some individuals that were circling the building," the church member said, "Burnet County Sheriff’s Department are outside."

The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office says the caller requested police at the church and then hung up.

"When we got to the church, we realized there had been shots fired. The person that made the call is part of their safety commission and he was the one that fired the shots," said Sheriff Boyd.

A church member who called had said after two people circled the church, a man in a full turban blocked the door and ran to a van where another person got out of the van with a rifle.

That's when the safety team member opened fire at them. However, an investigation determined that story was made up by the safety team member.

The Burnet County Sheriff’s office says at no time was the safety of the church in jeopardy.

"The rumors coming about the jihadist are unfortunate, but there wasn’t a van, there wasn’t two men, so it couldn’t have been jihadists," said Sheriff Boyd.

That team member, 45-year-old Jacob Wayne Tarver, is now behind bars charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for his fabricated story.

This also isn’t the first time Tarver has been accused of crying wolf. According to court records, Tarver was charged with a misdemeanor for a false report to police in Caldwell County in 1996.

Tarver’s friend Sean Linder has known him for years through the church community. He says Tarver lost his daughter in a car crash recently and was shocked to hear about the news.

"I go to the Methodist church, like right down the street. And so, we're ending, you know, I was on stage playing music, and they made an announcement. So, we were all kind of on the alert because we're thinking and people are driving around with machine guns or something," said Linder.

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The impact on the community was felt following the hoax. The sheriff’s office said it had more officers stationed at the schools.

Linder says it raised a lot of concern in the tight-knit small town. He hopes a real emergency wasn’t sacrificed because of the resources being used at the church.

"It's very random. Knowing Jacob, personally, I've always thought he was a good guy, and so I wish I had an explanation. You know, I can assume that maybe there was just some kind of stress that took him somewhere. I really don't know," said Linder.

The pastor of the church posted a statement on Facebook, which reads in part:

"Sunday and Monday were 2 of the most difficult days we have ever experienced in our ministry, but also in our personal lives. At first, traumatic because of a report that we were the target of an intended mass shooting, then crushing to discover that what we had been led to believe was false."

"That's a shame of all these man hours, all the resources DPS sent, that other agencies sent, we had helicopters in the air looking for this white van. That's a shame and there’s no telling what it cost," said Sheriff Boyd.

A motive is still unknown.