‘Extremely Sick’ Brother of Aaron Hernandez Accused of Planning Shootings at UConn, Brown: Arrest Warrant
July 26 2023, Published 10:44 a.m. ET
The brother of late football star Aaron Hernandez has been arrested for the fourth time this year after police were concerned he may have been planning an attack on two schools, according to authorities.
According to arrest documents obtained by WFSB, Dennis “DJ” Hernandez, 37, appeared to be planning shootings at the University of Connecticut and Brown University. Hernandez lives in Bristol and was a star football player at UConn and coached at Brown.
Police in Bristol said several people came forward this month claiming Hernandez was acting erratically. According to documents, one person alleged, “Dennis is extremely sick and that his mental health is continuing to deteriorate.”
An ex-girlfriend told police that Hernandez at one point drove to the UConn and Brown campuses to “map the schools out.” She felt like he was planning to do a “school shooting” and said he actually went into a number of classrooms and buildings on the Storrs campus, the arrest documents stated.
Hernandez said “he has a bullet for everyone,” police said. He's also accused of sending threatening texts to his ex-girlfriend and a family member that referenced UConn. In one, he allegedly wrote that the “UConn program is going to pay unless I have a package deal and I get my estate and every single thing I have worked for.”
The documents states he allegedly continued, “They are going to get surprised. Love you, I would recommend remaining away from there because when I go I’m taking down everything and I don’t give a [expletive] who gets caught in the crossfire. I’ve died for [years] now and now its others peoples turn. I’m prepared to give my life so if I don’t get to see you on the outside know I love you always. Not all shootings are bad I’m realizing. Some are necessary for change to happen.”
Despite this information, UConn police said there was no imminent threat to the university, WFSB reported.
Hernandez also posted threatening language to social media, saying, “Will I kill? Absolutely, I’ve warned my enemies to pay up front,” the arrest documents noted.
Investigators believed Hernandez was gravely disabled and a danger to society, so they went to his home to arrest him. He left the home, walked around the back of the building and yelled to officers to shoot him, officials said.
He disregarded multiple commands from police and police had to use a Taser to subdue him.
Hernandez was taken to a hospital, where he continued to make threats, police said, allegedly including that he would kill anyone who profited off his brother.
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Once he was released from the hospital, he was held on a $250,000 bond at the Bristol Police Department and handed over to the Department of Corrections.
He was charged with threatening and is set to be back in court next week, officials said.
DJ is the brother of Aaron Hernandez, who played for the New England Patriots and was convicted of murder. Aaron killed himself in prison in 2017.
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