1 arrested after shooting AR-15 outside of Houston County Sherriff’s Office

CROCKETT, Texas (KETK) – A man who allegedly impersonated a federal agent and then shot around 30 bullets from an AR-15 outside of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office was arrested on Saturday.

A man, officials identified as Clifford Heniser, 34 of Lovelady, came into the Houston County Sheriff’s Office lobby at around 7 a.m. on Saturday and claimed to be a federal agent who was there to inspect their records.

The dispatcher Heniser was speaking with, told him that a deputy was on the way as all other deputies were on patrol at that time, according to a post from the sheriff’s office.

Heniser then allegedly left the lobby and retrieved an AR-15 style rifle from his vehicle. Officials said he went back into the lobby to call dispatchers but all the dispatchers were now hiding under their desks and calling for help.

The above video shared by the sheriff’s office shows Heniser leaving the lobby and shooting around 30 shots from his AR-15 directly into the air.

According to the sheriff’s office, Heniser had reloaded and walked around the parking lot by the time that two Crockett police officers and a Texas DPS trooper arrived to confront him.

Heniser followed their commands to lay his rifle down and was then placed under arrest. The sheriff’s office said that a Colt pistol and two magazines were found on him along with four more rifle magazines. An additional 300 to 500 rounds of rifle ammunition were found in Heniser’s truck.

Heniser was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer, unlawfully carrying of a weapon by felon, criminal trespassing and deadly conduct, according to a post from the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office said that Heniser was also arrested on Wednesday for disorderly conduct in the Houston County Sheriff’s Office lobby.

“Chief Deputy Ryan Martin accessed the lobby to ascertain this man’s complaint,” Houston County Sheriff Zak Benge said in a post on Wednesday. “The suspect immediately became verbally aggressive and used profanity to find out what we are doing about all the ‘illegals.’ Chief Deputy Martin tried to answer his questions but could not get past the profanity being used in a public place.”

The sheriff said that Heniser is in custody of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office as of Saturday but he’ll be transferred to another county for his safety and the safety of sheriff’s office staff after seeing a magistrate judge.

The Crockett Police Department is investigating this case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.