LEWISVILLE, TX— Travis Merrill, 51, was arrested in connection with the murder of Tamhara Collazo on Thursday at their common workplace, Allegiance Trucks in Lewisville, TX.
New reports released Tuesday have indicated that Merrill was obsessed with Collazo and confessed citing "long breaks," as his motive for murdering her.
As reported by Fox News, Police told reporters that Merrill entered the business about 30 miles north of the Dallas metroplex and opened fire on Collazo at her desk after she returned from her lunch break. Police were able to respond rapidly, arresting Merrill in minutes and attempting to save Collazo. The victim was transported to an area hospital but later died from her injuries.
In an affidavit obtained by FOX 4 Dallas police described the attack, "As she re-entered after lunch, he followed her inside to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times."
The court document continued describing Merrill's mentality, "[Merrill said he] was obsessed with Collazo and began getting ever increasingly angry by her taking what he considered to be unauthorized long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying any attention to him.”
According to The New York Post, Collazo became aware of her colleague's concerning fixation on her and alerted the trucking company's human resources team. Merrill was reportedly ordered by the company to speak with a counselor prior to returning to work.
Merrill told officers that he was angered when Collazo began avoiding him at the office after reporting him to HR. He then purchased firearms and told officers that he brought them to work several times before the murder. He told officers these other occasions, "didn’t feel like the right time."
He told police that Collazo had, "caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there," as reported by Fox 4. The shooting was witnessed by approximately two dozen of the company's employees.
In a statement to Fox 4 Allegiance Trucks said, ""The company is providing support to the victim's family and the rest of our employees who, thankfully, were unharmed, and we have closed our Lewisville office indefinitely. We are also working closely with law enforcement during their ongoing investigation. We ask for the community's support as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence."
Merrill is being held in the Denton County Jail under a bond set at $10 million.
New reports released Tuesday have indicated that Merrill was obsessed with Collazo and confessed citing "long breaks," as his motive for murdering her.
As reported by Fox News, Police told reporters that Merrill entered the business about 30 miles north of the Dallas metroplex and opened fire on Collazo at her desk after she returned from her lunch break. Police were able to respond rapidly, arresting Merrill in minutes and attempting to save Collazo. The victim was transported to an area hospital but later died from her injuries.
In an affidavit obtained by FOX 4 Dallas police described the attack, "As she re-entered after lunch, he followed her inside to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times."
The court document continued describing Merrill's mentality, "[Merrill said he] was obsessed with Collazo and began getting ever increasingly angry by her taking what he considered to be unauthorized long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying any attention to him.”
According to The New York Post, Collazo became aware of her colleague's concerning fixation on her and alerted the trucking company's human resources team. Merrill was reportedly ordered by the company to speak with a counselor prior to returning to work.
Merrill told officers that he was angered when Collazo began avoiding him at the office after reporting him to HR. He then purchased firearms and told officers that he brought them to work several times before the murder. He told officers these other occasions, "didn’t feel like the right time."
He told police that Collazo had, "caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there," as reported by Fox 4. The shooting was witnessed by approximately two dozen of the company's employees.
In a statement to Fox 4 Allegiance Trucks said, ""The company is providing support to the victim's family and the rest of our employees who, thankfully, were unharmed, and we have closed our Lewisville office indefinitely. We are also working closely with law enforcement during their ongoing investigation. We ask for the community's support as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence."
Merrill is being held in the Denton County Jail under a bond set at $10 million.
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Comments
2024-10-25T13:11-0400 | Comment by: James
I bet the the woman of color was flaunting her breaks at the white man .... I bet the woman was attempting to even lord over the white man ..... FIRE people like that, folks .... I do .......