A Texas man has been accused of murdering his co-worker after becoming obsessed with the time she spent on breaks and furious that she was not giving him enough attention, reports say.
Travis Merrill, 51, was arrested on Thursday in Lewisville, on the outskirts of Dallas, and charged with the fatal shooting of Tamhara Collazo at her desk inside the trucking company where they both worked.
Police were called to the office at around 11.30am by reports of an active shooter, only to reportedly find Merrill on his knees with his hands in the air and a pair of revolvers in his jacket on the floor.
But under questioning by detectives, Merrill allegedly confessed to a spiraling fixation with his younger colleague that culminated in a premeditated shooting.
In arrest documents seen by local broadcaster KDFW, officers allege that Merrill was “obsessed with Collazo and began getting ever-increasingly angry [at] her taking what he considered to be unauthorized long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying any attention to him.”
Merrill allegedly then stalked Collazo for several months, watching her during her breaks, to the point where he was able to reel off a detailed list of exact dates and exact break lengths under questioning by detectives.
Eventually, Collazo allegedly confronted Merrill about his behavior and reported him to HR, leading him to be suspended until he spoke to a counselor.
When he returned to work, Collazo understandably avoided him. This, the documents allege, made Merrill furious, and he began buying guns and practicing with them in his home.
“[He felt that Collazo] had caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there,” the documents allege.
Finally, on October 17, Merrill allegedly watched Collazo throughout her lunch break, retrieved his guns from his car, followed her back into the office, and allegedly “ambushed” her at her cubicle.
According to public records and her LinkedIn account, Collazo was 37 years old and had been working as an accounts receivable specialist at Allegiance since November 2022.
Collazo’s employer Allegiance Trucks told KDFW that it was devastated by the shooting and had closed its Lewisville office “indefinitely”.
“We ask for the community’s support, as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence,” the company said.
