Pat Tillman's brother battling mental health issues before arrest, family says
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The Tillman family says they are relieved no one was injured in an early morning fire and crash at a San Jose post office Sunday.
Police have arrested 44-year-old Richard Tillman, brother of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman, in connection with the incident.
In the Almaden Valley, it's the story everyone is talking about - an alleged intentionally crashed car that set off a fiery blaze inside the local post office.
MORE: Brother of late NFL star Pat Tillman arrested after crashing into San Jose post office, causing fire
"I'm shocked," Gladys Huerta said. "I am just shocked. This is a quiet, peaceful neighborhood."
"It's a sad story," Tom Gerber said. "Family has lived out here forever, part of the community. It sounds crazy."
Tillman was arrested after police say he intentionally crashed his car into the Almaden Post Office around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Video from a neighbor shows a person standing in front of the building engulfed in flames.
United States Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet says they are investigating whether or not this was Tillman livestreaming the crash, as well as potential reasons why.
"It's a pretty complex thing to investigate because you have the fire and you've got whatever the potential motivations for a fire like that could be," Norfleet said.
As we gather more information about the motive behind Tillman's alleged actions, a look at his social media appears to tell us more.
ABC7 News interviewed Tillman in 2015 and he looks a lot different now in pictures on his Facebook and YouTube page.
Tillman refers to himself as Yeshua HaMashiach, a Hebrew phrase that translates to Jesus the Messiah, the "Son of the Most High God."
Along with his brief career in Hollywood, Tillman gained nationwide attention from his eulogy at his brother's funeral in San Jose after Pat was killed by friendly fire serving in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger in 2004.
His YouTube page, which has since been deleted, illustrates a mission to bring down the government.
In his latest video on July 15, he said he was going to take down the whole system, the United States and the world government.
In a statement, Pat and Richard's brother Kevin Tillman said in part:
"To be clear, it's no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years. He has been livestreaming, what I'll call, his altered self on social media for anyone to witness. Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult - or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be."
Norfleet says these videos are being investigated.
"Our point of view is there can be no rational explanation for an event like this," Norfleet said. "So, we're certainly investigating this as an irrational act."
USPIS is asking for the community's help in their investigation, particularly around the possibility of whether or not this was live-streamed.
