Trucker arrested in Indianapolis days before he planned to 'shoot up' Memphis church

Federal authorities say they arrested a Florida truck driver in Indianapolis just days before he planned to shoot people at a church in Memphis, Tenn.

Thomas Matthew McVicker, 38, was planning to "shoot up" a church in Memphis on Thursday, according to probable cause affidavit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Southern Alabama.

Before he could act on his threats, the FBI and Indiana State Police arrested McVicker in Indianapolis on Friday, said Chris Bavender, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Indianapolis.

He appeared for an initial hearing on Monday, Bavender said.

This is the latest case of men being arrested around the country after indicating they wanted to carry out a mass shooting. 

According to the affidavit:

McVicker is a truck driver from Punta Gorda, Florida, but he lives in his semi. One of his friends contacted the FBI on Aug. 12 and said McVicker was planning a mass shooting and suicide.

"I was thinking about shooting a church up but I am afraid how it will affect my family in the flesh after I'm gone," McVicker said in an Aug. 9 text to that friend.

McVicker didn't give a reason for the attack, but told the friend about "spiritual snakes" and evil "entities" he said are attacking and torturing him. 

McVicker's mother on Aug. 12 told an FBI agent that he has a Ruger P90 handgun, takes medication for schizophrenia and occasionally uses cocaine and methamphetamine.

On Aug. 14, McVicker told a witness over the phone that he was going to "shoot up" a church in Memphis.

"(The witness) stated that McVicker was speaking in a frantic manner and told her that he intended to take his knife and slit the pastor's throat," FBI Special Agent Ketrick Kelley wrote in the affidavit.

McVicker asked his employer for a day off on Aug. 22. The leave request indicated he was planning to spend time in Memphis.

The affidavit does not say what church McVicker planned to attack.

USA Today reported that the Memphis Police Department had been notified of the threat.

Court records show McVicker was ticketed for driving a truck in an improper turn lane in Jefferson County Alabama in June 2014, USA Today reported. At the time, he was working for Swift Transportation of Gary, Indiana.

IndyStar left a message for Swift Transportation seeking comment.

McVicker failed to pay the fine until 13 months later, after his driver's license was suspended, records show.

USA TODAY reporter Ryan W. Miller, Memphis Commercial Appeal reporter Micaela Watts, and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701 or vic.ryckaert@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.