Pat Tillman’s brother allegedly drove his car into post office and spray-painted cryptic message before it burned down

The brother of late football player Pat Tillman was arrested in San Jose after he crashed his car through a post office and then lit the building on fire, according to California police.

San Jose police arrested 44-year-old Richard Tillman on suspicion of arson after a car was driven through the front of the post office in Almaden Valley on Crown Boulevard at about 3 a.m. The building went up in flames, and firefighters took 90 minutes to extinguish the fire.

‘I cannot think of a reason why that would make sense, but that’s one of the things we’re looking into.’

“We’re definitely investigating it as possibly an intentional act, so driving the vehicle into the building and then starting the fire can’t be ruled out as having been done on purpose,” U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet said.

Video from the scene showed that there was vandalism on the post office that read, “Viva La Me.”

“Those markings were not on the building yesterday. What their connection is to the fire and crash is so far unexplained,” Norfleet continued. “I cannot think of a reason why that would make sense, but that’s one of the things we’re looking into.”

He went on to say that Tillman may have been broadcasting video of the incident.

A witness said that Tillman had a box of belongings at the incident, including a photograph of his brother.

“I remember reading about Pat Tillman, and I come from a family of a lot of military people, so his story — Pat Tillman’s story — did impact me,” resident Gladys Huerta said.

RELATED: Pat Tillman’s mom rips ESPYs for naming Prince Harry as recipient of son’s award

Some residents in the area said they have no idea where their mail is because of the incident.

“I guess I’m going to come see if the mailman comes to my house,” Tom Gerber said. “I’ll put it outside in the box and see if the mailman comes. I don’t know if we’ll get mail today or not.”

Richard Tillman is being held at the Santa Clara County Jail without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Pat Tillman was praised by many when he gave up a million-dollar contract to play in the NFL in order to join the military after the 9/11 attacks. The story turned to tragedy when he was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 and the government later acknowledged that he was hit by friendly fire.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!