BURNET COUNTY, Texas – A 45-year-old man has been arrested and charged with creating a false report after fabricating details about a shooting incident near a Burnet County church, according to police. 

According to the Burnet County Sheriff's Office, around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, police responded to the Church at the Epicenter on North U.S. 281. BCSO dispatch reported an unknown man called 911, stated the church's address, requested police response and then disconnected from the call.

When law enforcement arrived, it “became clear” that there was gunfire, but that the triggers were pulled from someone with the church's volunteer safety team.

It was later determined that the caller, who also fired the gunshots, was a part of the safety team. 

According to BCSO, the man claimed that he confronted two suspicious men outside of the church, and said one of them was armed with a rifle. Jacob Wayne Tarver, the caller/shooter, additionally stated that he fired multiple shots leading the two males to enter a white minivan and flee the scene.

BCSO said investigators spent most of Sunday and part of Monday morning searching for the two men who Tarver said were involved in the incident, but it turned out to be a false report.

In the midst of BCSO’s investigation, Tarver admitted that he fabricated major details of the event to law enforcement – there was never a white van or any suspicious men, BCSO reported. 

The sheriff’s office released a statement that there were no hostile actions taken or directed at the church, and no weapons brandished toward the building or the safety team member.

Tarver was arrested and charged with false report to induce an emergency response, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and deadly conduct.

He was placed in the Burnet County Jail and is awaiting a magistrate hearing to set bail.