Texas Police Arrest Man for Making Terror Threats

DENTON, Texas (CN) - An Iraqi man was arrested Wednesday at a Texas courthouse for threatening death to those who refused copies of the Quran, police said.

Denton police arrested Peshwaz Azad Waise, 28, for allegedly making terroristic threats Wednesday morning. They said officers responding to a unrelated service call last night were stopped by Waise, who spoke "irrationally" and made comments about God and Allah.

Since Waise was not breaking the law, the officers continued on their call.

Denton is about 40 miles north of Dallas and Fort Worth and is the home of the University of North Texas. Campus police responded to a disturbance at an IHOP restaurant on the south side of campus later Tuesday night.

"Upon arrival, they spoke with Peshwaz who was still speaking irrationally," Denton police said in a statement. "He was issued a notice of trespass and instructed to leave UNT property. Sometime later, Peshwaz showed up at the Center for Women at 207 N. Bonnie Brae. He went inside and began insisting they take the Koran from him. He told them to give the Koran to the chaplain or chapel 'or die.' He left prior to law enforcement arriving."

Police said Waise later entered the Denton County Courthouse and told security personnel at a checkpoint that he was "the King" before being escorted out.

"While being detained, Peshwaz became agitated and said 'I'm imposing the death penalty (on the officers who were dealing with him),'" police said. "He later told them, 'Anybody who touches me is going to bleed.'"

His silver Nissan Versa was processed in the courthouse parking lot as a precautionary measure. Bomb squad vehicles remain in the parking lot as of mid-afternoon.

The scare in Denton comes one day after a reportedly disgruntled employee at a Wal-Mart in Amarillo was shot and killed by police after taking his boss and a coworker hostage.

Amarillo police said Mohammad Moghaddam, 54, entered the store Tuesday morning with a handgun, fired at least one shot at the ceiling and keeping the hostages in the back of the store.

They called it a "workplace violence" event relating to being passed over for a promotion. There is "no indication" the shooting was related to the massacre of 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub over the weekend, police said.

Follow @davejourno

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