Officials Continue Probing Church Threat

EAST TEXAS — Authorities say a man who was arrested for making threats against an East Texas church allegedly did so citing God as the reason for his actions. KETK reports that the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received a call Sunday at 2:10 p.m. from the Corinth Church on FM 346 near Lake Palestine. The caller said an unknown man wearing a camouflage helmet, camo pants, tactical vest, and boots had entered the church around 2:00 p.m. The caller also said what appeared to be a pistol was visible in his pocket. The man was later identified as Rasheed Abdul Aziz, 40, of Flint.

According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses said the suspect appeared distressed and stated he was a man of Islam, and that God had told him to “slay infidels.” Several parishioners brought Aziz into a room away from others at the church while another person called the Sheriff’s Office. Before law enforcement arrived at the scene, Aziz left the church and headed north on FM 346 into Smith County, according to authorities. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office notified Smith County, and Cherokee County deputies remained in the area in an attempt to locate Aziz, who was not found.

Cherokee County deputies returned to the area several times in an attempt to locate the suspect, and returned to the Church between 6:00 p.m. and 6:20 p.m., in case Aziz returned during evening service times. At about 6:45 p.m. Cherokee County deputies again responded to the church due to a report from a passer-by about a vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle seen leaving the church, headed north into Smith County again. Smith County was again alerted, and deputies from both departments searched the area, but were unable to locate Aziz.

At around 8:20 p.m. Smith County reported it had Aziz in custody, resulting from a call to which it responded on Beautiful Hills Drive in Flint. According to the Smith Count Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was found inside the Pine Trail Shores subdivision. At this time, Smith County has charged Aziz with unlawful possession of a firearm. Cherokee County is currently gathering further information on the initial incident at the Corinth Church, and criminal charges are expected to be filed through Cherokee County within a day or so, according to officials.