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A Texas man fatally shot his co-worker after months of obsessive behavior, following a dispute over her taking breaks.
The killing occurred at the Allegiance Trucking office building, where 51-year-old Travis Lee Merrill shot his co-worker, Tamhara Collazo, in Denton County, Texas.
As stated in the report, the obsessed man claimed her breaks were too long and that she took them without his permission.
Merrill became “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 a police affidavit.
Collazo warned HR about Merrill
After Collazo felt uncomfortable by his presence, she alerted HR about his behavior. She observed him watching her for months, and he was suspended. As a result, he had to speak with a counselor before coming back to work.
When he came back to the office, Collazo tried her best to avoid him. She did not want to be around him, which infuriated him.
Merrill thought his co-workers would look at him differently due to the counseling, believing everyone saw him as a “psychopath.” Therefore, he blamed Collazo and was very upset with her. Seeking vengeance for her perceived actions, “he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there.”
According to officials, he brought firearms twice, but did not act because it “didn’t feel like the right time.” Moreover, he stated that he would practice hand motions of shooting the firearm at home.
The Day of the Shooting
After her lunch break, Merrill followed her to the cubicle and began attacking her. After the ambush, she suffered gunshot wounds (two in her arm, two in her chest, and one in her leg).
When police arrived, they transferred her to Medical City Lewisville Hospital, where she died from her injuries. Merrill told officials where the firearms were located and admitted to being the shooter.
Allegiance Trucking Speaks Out after Texas Man kills co-worker
In a statement told to KFW, Allegiance Trucking stated:
“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.
Officials are holding him at the Denton County Jail on a $10 million bond and charged him with first-degree murder.