Dennis Hernandez, the older brother of disgraced former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, who committed suicide in 2017, has been arrested after being suspected of planning school shootings at the University of Connecticut and Brown University.
Hernandez was reportedly showing signs of being “gravely disabled and a danger to society,” the Bristol Police Department said.
According to reports, several people came forward about Hernandez’s “very erratic behavior” and “alarming” text messages, including one that read, “We’re taking lives if shit isn’t paid up. It’s been years in planning just taking notes, names and locations. They talked their way into this and it’s almost point game.”
A woman who claimed to be a former girlfriend also said she let Hernandez borrow her car for a court date earlier this month, but instead she alleges he drove to UConn, where he played football, and Brown, where he coached one season, and “went into a number of classrooms and buildings.” She told police she believed he was planning school shootings.
Police at UConn did confirm the car linked to Hernandez was at the campus that day, but according to AP, Brown University's investigation indicated he had not returned to campus recently.
He also posted threatening messages on social media, including one that said he would “absolutely” kill. “I’ve warned my enemies so pay up front.”
When police arrived to his residence last week, Hernandez said he was armed and threatened to kill them. The interaction ended with police tasing him and then transporting him to a hospital, where he continued the threats and said he would kill “anyone who profited off of his brother Aaron.” According to police, he also "mentioned specifically ESPN, but not any people."
After being released from the hospital he was taken to the Bristol Police Department and booked. He is scheduled to appear in court next week.