A man was arrested after intentionally crashing his truck into the glass windows of a Fox affiliate on Wednesday morning in downtown Dallas, police said.
The building was partially evacuated over fears the incident was the beginning of an attack.
“He jumped out and started ranting,” Fox 4 said on Twitter. A few staffers kept reporting from a secure location as the incident unfolded at about 6 a.m., the station said.
Police arrived minutes later and took Michael Chadwick Fry, 34, into custody without incident, the Dallas Police Department said in a statement. Fry was evaluated at a hospital and then transported to the Lew Sterrett Jail, police said, where he was charged with felony criminal mischief.
Fry’s silver Dodge Ram smashed into the tall glass windows in what appeared to be at least two separate collisions.
No one was injured, and Fry did not appear to be directly targeting reporters, police said.
But Fry, in a frantic state, told reporters at the jail he was in fear of his life and wanted to bring attention to an incident in which a deputy shot and killed a man in 2012.
A Denton County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roberto Carlos Hernandez after authorities said he rammed a patrol car during a traffic stop. A man matching Fry’s name and age was in the car and arrested, according to a 2012 NBC 5 story.
Fry tossed reams of papers and fliers outside the station referring to the shooting, written hastily on a printout of a story from WFAA. The fliers described “high treason,” “witchery,” and conspiracies, and also suggested police officials were paid off, WFAA reported.
“They were trying to kill me, and they missed and they killed Roberto Carlos Hernandez,” Fry pleaded with reporters. “Ever since I’ve been running for my life and I don’t know what to do.”
Fry told reporters he was mentally challenged but did not elaborate before he was led away by police. The Denton Record-Chronicle reported he has been held in county jail 26 times since 2003, citing records of incidents involving assault, arson and other crimes.
Photos show the station building has a partially collapsed window with a hole wider than the truck. Another window is smashed where the truck appears to have stopped.
The incident comes amid concern that accusations and political rhetoric of “fake news” has emboldened violence against journalists.
A gunman killed five reporters and injured two others at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis on June 28. He shattered a glass door with a shotgun blast to enter the building.
In August, federal authorities charged a California man with making repeated threats of violence against the Boston Globe.
