Family members said Richard Tillman, the brother of former NFL player and fallen soldier Pat Tillman, struggled for years with mental health issues ahead of his appearance Wednesday in court, where he is charged with ramming his car into a California post office and setting it on fire.
Kevin Tillman, the middle brother, said it was an open secret that Richard was in a bad head space before Sunday’s crash and blaze that left a San Jose postal building in ruins.
“He has been livestreaming, what I’ll call, his altered self on social media for anyone to witness,” Kevin Tillman told KNTV. “Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be. We have nothing further to add at this time.”
Charging documents said Richard Tillman, 44, filled his car with instant fire logs and doused them in lighter fluid before backing into the post office around 3 a.m. Sunday.
The filing said Mr. Tillman tossed a match into the vehicle soon after, igniting the fire that destroyed the federal building.
Firefighters battled the flames for more than an hour before they were able to bring it under control.
Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet said all mail inside the office was lost in the fire.
Mr. Norfleet said the post office also had been tagged with graffiti and that the suspect was livestreaming the incident before he was taken into custody.
Authorities found a photo of Pat Tillman near the burned-out car.
“Postal inspectors are investigating as an intentional act, it will be determined in a court of law if it was but it does not look like an accident so far,” Mr. Norfleet told KGO-TV.
Pat Tillman became a folk hero after he left his career with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The eldest Tillman son deployed to Iraq during the initial U.S. invasion, returned home, became an Army Ranger and then was redeployed to Afghanistan.
In April 2004, Tillman was killed by friendly fire while traversing a canyon near the border with Pakistan.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.