Pat Tillman's brother Richard sparks post office blaze in San Jose, arrested for Arson after livestreamed crash
Richard Tillman, younger brother of late NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman, was arrested after allegedly crashing a vehicle into a San Jose post office and starting a fire that consumed the building in the early hours of Sunday, July 20.
The 44-year-old was booked into Santa Clara County Jail without bail on suspicion of arson. Authorities confirmed the crash occurred around 3 a.m., and sources say the incident was captured in a live video stream.
Post office in flames, feds step in
The crash occurred at the U.S. Post Office in Almaden Valley, San Jose. After the vehicle rammed through the entrance, a fire engulfed the front lobby and the car itself. The fire required a second-alarm response, with nearly 50 firefighters battling the blaze for over 90 minutes.
No injuries were reported, but the building suffered significant structural damage.
Investigators say the incident is being treated as intentional, and federal authorities are now involved. 'Given the nature of the target, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has opened a joint investigation with local agencies,' a postal spokesperson confirmed.
'I'm Pat Tillman's brother,' He allegedly declared
The most chilling detail came from the alleged live video stream.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You
Reportingly
Undo
According to People, NBC Bay Area, and ABC7 News, Richard Tillman reportedly filmed himself at the scene, saying, 'I'm Pat Tillman's brother' as flames tore through the post office.
The Guardian also confirmed the same, reporting that he was 'streaming the fiery aftermath' and speaking directly to the camera. Graffiti discovered on-site included the phrase 'Viva la me,' which is now part of the investigation. Authorities have not confirmed a motive but indicated that mental health concerns are under review.
A painful chapter in a family of American legacy
Richard Tillman is the younger brother of Pat Tillman, the Arizona Cardinals star who famously left the NFL to join the Army after the 9/11 attacks. Pat was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, and his story has since symbolized duty, sacrifice, and truth.
Richard once delivered a widely respected eulogy at Pat's memorial but has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years. This sudden and destructive act has drawn national attention and renewed focus on the Tillman family's legacy and personal struggles.
Also read:
Who is Faith Ward? Everything You Need to Know About the First-Ever Kiwi Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader
FAQs
1.Who is Richard Tillman?
Richard is the younger brother of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player and Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan.
2. What charges is he facing?
He is booked on suspicion of arson and is currently being held without bail in Santa Clara County Jail.
3. When is his next court appearance?
He is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Santa Clara County.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
31 minutes ago
- NDTV
Rise Of Deepfakes: Realistic AI Impersonations Threaten Governments, Businesses, And Trust
WASHINGTON: The phone rings. It's the secretary of state calling. Or is it? For Washington insiders, seeing and hearing is no longer believing, thanks to a spate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonating top officials in President Donald Trump's administration. Digital fakes are coming for corporate America, too, as criminal gangs and hackers associated with adversaries, including North Korea, use synthetic video and audio to impersonate CEOs and low-level job candidates to gain access to critical systems or business secrets. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, creating realistic deepfakes is easier than ever, causing security problems for governments, businesses and private individuals and making trust the most valuable currency of the digital age. Responding to the challenge will require laws, better digital literacy and technical solutions that fight AI with more AI. "As humans, we are remarkably susceptible to deception," said Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and founder of the tech firm Pindrop Security. But he believes solutions to the challenge of deepfakes may be within reach: "We are going to fight back." This summer, someone used AI to create a deepfake of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an attempt to reach out to foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor over text, voice mail and the Signal messaging app. In May, someone impersonated Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Another phoney Rubio had popped up in a deepfake earlier this year, saying he wanted to cut off Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet service. Ukraine's government later rebutted the false claim. The national security implications are huge: People who think they're chatting with Rubio or Wiles, for instance, might discuss sensitive information about diplomatic negotiations or military strategy. "You're either trying to extract sensitive secrets or competitive information, or you're going after access to an email server or other sensitive network," Kinny Chan, CEO of the cybersecurity firm QiD, said of the possible motivations. Synthetic media can also aim to alter behavior. Last year, Democratic voters in New Hampshire received a robocall urging them not to vote in the state's upcoming primary. The voice on the call sounded suspiciously like then-President Joe Biden but was actually created using AI. Their ability to deceive makes AI deepfakes a potent weapon for foreign actors. Both Russia and China have used disinformation and propaganda directed at Americans as a way of undermining trust in democratic alliances and institutions. Steven Kramer, the political consultant who admitted sending the fake Biden robocalls, said he wanted to send a message about the dangers deepfakes pose to the American political system. Kramer was acquitted last month of charges of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. "I did what I did for $500," Kramer said. "Can you imagine what would happen if the Chinese government decided to do this?" The greater availability and sophistication of the programs mean deepfakes are increasingly used for corporate espionage and garden variety fraud. "The financial industry is right in the crosshairs," said Jennifer Ewbank, a former deputy director of the CIA who worked on cybersecurity and digital threats. "Even individuals who know each other have been convinced to transfer vast sums of money." In the context of corporate espionage, they can be used to impersonate CEOs asking employees to hand over passwords or routing numbers. Deepfakes can also allow scammers to apply for jobs - and even do them - under an assumed or fake identity. For some, this is a way to access sensitive networks, to steal secrets or to install ransomware. Others just want the work and may be working a few similar jobs at different companies at the same time. Authorities in the US have said that thousands of North Koreans with information technology skills have been dispatched to live abroad, using stolen identities to obtain jobs at tech firms in the US and elsewhere. The workers get access to company networks as well as a paycheck. In some cases, the workers install ransomware that can be later used to extort even more money. The schemes have generated billions of dollars for the North Korean government. Within three years, as many as 1 in 4 job applications are expected to be fake, according to research from Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity company. "We've entered an era where anyone with a laptop and access to an open-source model can convincingly impersonate a real person," said Brian Long, Adaptive's CEO. "It's no longer about hacking systems - it's about hacking trust." Researchers, public policy experts and technology companies are now investigating the best ways of addressing the economic, political and social challenges posed by deepfakes. New regulations could require tech companies to do more to identify, label and potentially remove deepfakes on their platforms. Lawmakers could also impose greater penalties on those who use digital technology to deceive others, if they can be caught. Greater investments in digital literacy could also boost people's immunity to online deception by teaching them ways to spot fake media and avoid falling prey to scammers. The best tool for catching AI may be another AI program, one trained to sniff out the tiny flaws in deepfakes that would go unnoticed by a person. Systems like Pindrop's analyze millions of datapoints in any person's speech to quickly identify irregularities. The system can be used during job interviews or other video conferences to detect if the person is using voice cloning software, for instance. Similar programs may one day be commonplace, running in the background as people chat with colleagues and loved ones online. Someday, deepfakes may go the way of email spam, a technological challenge that once threatened to upend the usefulness of email, said Balasubramaniyan, Pindrop's CEO. "You can take the defeatist view and say we're going to be subservient to disinformation," he said. "But that's not going to happen." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Minister falls prey to Rs 25L land fraud, files FIR
Bhubaneswar: Odisha cabinet minister Krushna Chandra Patra has fallen prey to an alleged land fraud, leading to the registration of a cheating case against a property dealer in Dhenkanal district. According to an FIR filed by Patra at Town police station in Dhenkanal on Saturday, he had transferred Rs 25 lakh to Niranjan Satpathy in 2021 to purchase a plot of land in Banasingh area of Dhenkanal district. Satpathy, however, neither transferred the property nor returned the money to Patra. "Based on my complaint, police are investigating the case. The incident occurred in 2021 when I was not an MLA. I was then working as a director in a company and had planned to purchase land. I gave the money to Satpathy, but he reneged on the land deal," the food supplies & consumer welfare minister said on Monday. The complaint read that Satpathy contacted Patra through an intermediary in 2021, offering land at an attractive price. Satpathy presented land documents and claimed the property belonged to someone who was eager to sell, subsequently collecting Rs 25 lakh from Patra. "As time progressed, Satpathy failed to complete the property registration in my name. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 7 All-Inclusive Destinations That Accept Credit Card Rewards Liseer Learn More Undo Despite repeated enquiries, Satpathy couldn't arrange the land transfer. When I asked for a refund, Satpathy issued two cheques, both of which bounced due to insufficient funds," Patra stated in his FIR, a copy of which was seen by TOI. The minister had sent a legal notice to Satpathy seeking repayment, but to no avail. "Following repeated demands, Satpathy made an undertaking to pay the amount by Nov 30, 2024, but he retracted. Though he promised to refund the entire money by the end of Jan, he failed again," Patra stated in the FIR. Further verification by Patra revealed that Satpathy neither possessed land nor had any arrangements with landowners, indicating his intention to deceive. "He has failed to return my money. This act has caused me financial distress and mental grief. By taking advantage of my simplicity, he cheated me. I request that immediate action be taken against him," the FIR copy read. Dhenkanal town police inspector Prabhat Sahoo said they are verifying the minister's allegation. "We have issued summons to the suspect to face interrogation. Investigation is continuing," Sahoo said.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Pahalgam mastermind among 3 killed in Operation Mahadev
ANI J-K: Three terrorists killed in 'Operation Mahadev' encounter Srinagar: The armed forces on Monday killed three infiltrators in the Lidwas area, located in the upper reaches of Dachigam National Park in Harwan on the outskirts of Srinagar. The Army launched 'Operation Mahadev' in the early hours of Monday and later reported the recovery of three bodies from the encounter site. A senior J&K police official told ET that the group was led by 'Sulaiman', who was allegedly involved in the Pahalgam massacre. "Sulaiman and two others were killed in this encounter. He was involved in the Pahalgam attack," the official said. The armed forces are expected to formally brief the media on the operation on Tuesday. However, there has been no official confirmation yet on the identity or involvement of the three suspected the Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam 25 tourists and one local were killed by unidentified gunmen from point blank range on April 22, this year, which triggered a mini war between India and Pakistan in May. "Contact established in General Area terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues," Srinagar based Chinar Corps of the Army had informed. Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma complimented the forces for the swift and precise execution of the infiltrators. The army officials have informally shared pictures of the three bodies, with bullet wounds in their heads. They informed that a US carbine, AK-47 rifles and other ammunition has been recovered from the three suspects. However, the identity of the trio is yet to be officially disclosed. "The identification of the neutralised terrorists is being done. Please await further details," J&K police informed on X. The army and police have also not issued any official statement about the connection of this group with the Pahalgam attack but the investigation continues. "Three Pakistani terrorists have been eliminated in Dachigam area and police will share details of the operation. Such kinetic operations have been happening for several months now and I congratulate the forces for this success," Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of a function. Earlier, on April 12, three foreign infiltrators were killed in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar and the army sais an AK rifle, an M4 Rifle and other equipment were recovered from the spot. The officials claimed that a top Jaish-e-Muhammad commander was killed in that encounter.
