A man accused of deliberately driving a vehicle into a Northern California post office is reportedly the brother of former NFL player and US Army ranger Pat Tillman, the US Postal Inspection Service said.
The investigation began when police and firefighters in San Jose responded to reports of a burning vehicle in the box lobby area of the Almaden Valley Station Post Office about 3 a.m. Sunday, the USPIS said in a statement emailed to CNN.
The fire was extinguished and police took a man into custody, the statement said.
“The person in police custody is named Richard Tillman, who is reported to be the brother of the late NFL player and US Army soldier Patrick Tillman,” the service said.
The suspect told officers at the scene he is Pat Tillman’s brother and said he live-streamed the crash on a social media platform, KNTV in San Francisco reported, citing a source with knowledge of the investigation.
“Postal inspectors are investigating the incident as a potentially intentional act,” USPIS said.
Richard Tillman is being held without bond and is due to appear in court Wednesday, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office booking information.
Pat Tillman, who led his high school football team in San Jose to a championship before playing at Arizona State University and advancing to the NFL, was killed while serving as a US Ranger in Afghanistan in 2004.
The former Arizona Cardinals player – who turned down a multimillion-dollar contract with the team to enlist with the US Army following the September 11 attacks – was shot in the head three times by US soldiers who mistook him for the enemy.
In a post on X Sunday, the San Jose Fire Department said about 50 personnel attended the scene of the post office fire, with no injuries reported.
Photos from the fire department show firefighters dousing the charred entrance to the building.
