The Brazos County sheriff’s office was looking for a local man before he was arrested in Washington D.C. near the vice president’s official residence on weapons charges.
Lt. Garrett House says they had been in contact with Paul Murray for two weeks after family members were concerned about his behavior.
House says deputies were working with family members and health care providers to obtain a mental health evaluation for Murray.
When deputies received information that Murray may have been traveling to D.C., House said that information was forwarded to local and federal agencies.
House said “this is pretty rare, something to this magnitude. This is definitely not the first time we’ve had to send information out to our other partners, but this is not a common thing for us.”
Murray, who is not wanted on local criminal charges, is accused in D.C. of possessing a large capacity ammunition feeding device, a rifle, and unregistered ammunition. The vice president has not moved into the home, which is undergoing renovations.
House says the sheriff’s office has a crisis intervention team with four full time deputies who “go and help people who are in a mental health crisis and the families that have their loved ones in a mental health crisis.”
Click below for comments from Garrett House, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.