Investigators are looking into the incident as a potentially intentional act.
WASHINGTON — Pat Tillman’s brother was taken into custody in California following an early morning car crash into a post office on Sunday.
The San Jose Fire Department reported responding to a blaze around 3 a.m. at the Almaden Valley Post Office, situated just south of San Francisco, as noted in their social media update.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, responsible for examining crimes related to post offices, stated that the event involved a car ramming into the building and subsequently catching fire.
Police arrested a man named Richard Tillman, who is reported to be the brother of the late NFL player and U.S. Army soldier Pat Tillman, according to the USPIS.
In a statement, the agency said investigators were looking into the incident as a potentially intentional act.
According to multiple media outlets, the 44-year-old Richard Tillman was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of arson.
Pat Tillman, the suspect’s brother, was a player for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL in the early 2000s. He left his sports career to enlist in the U.S. Army Rangers in 2002, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the previous year.
His service in Iraq and Afghanistan was highlighted by the media until his death. In 2004, Tillman was killed by friendly fire, although the Army originally reported he had been killed in combat with enemy forces. After his memorial service, the Pentagon notified his family that Tillman had been killed by friendly fire from troops serving with him.
His death sparked criticism from fans and Tillman’s family, who accused the Department of Defense of withholding the information to preserve the military’s image.
A 2007 report from the Pentagon ruled Tillman’s death as accidental.
