Court docs: Man charged after threatening Islamic Center students with knife, pipe
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man was charged after he was accused of threatening students at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri with a knife and a pipe on Monday.
Heath Garrett Waller, 38, was charged with second-degree making a terroristic threat, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and first-degree harassment. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.
An initial court appearance was held Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse. A confined docket hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday and a preliminary hearing was set for 9 a.m. Thursday, May 9.
According to the probable cause statement, police were dispatched to the Islamic Center on Monday when a caller stated a man was banging on a door with a knife and threatened to kill children.
A Columbia police officer wrote in the statement that as he was approaching Locust Street, he saw a man -- who matched a description given by the caller -- walking into a wood line. Waller was placed into handcuffs and stated he had a knife in his jacket pocket, the statement says. Police found a knife with a wooden handle and a blade around 4-6 inches in length.
An employee at the center stated they were notified by students to call law enforcement, the statement says. A student had told police that they heard banging outside of the building and that Waller was seen through the window of a door threatening students with a knife, the statement says. The student told police that there were some windows in the building that were open and they were worried that Waller may have tried to get through them, the statement says.
Another student told police that they heard yelling outside of the mosque and went outside to check it out, the statement says. Waller was allegedly speaking “gibberish” while waiving around a metal pipe before chasing the student the statement says. The student got back inside the building and locked the door, and Waller then started banging on the door, the statement says.
Another student heard yelling coming from the door and started recording with a cellphone, the statement says. The student allegedly heard Waller threatening to cut their heads off. Another student in the statement gave the same story.
Multiple witnesses agreed to go with police to identify the suspect they detained and confirmed Waller was the same person who threatened them, the statement says.
Police also viewed video that was recorded from inside the Islamic Center that allegedly showed Waller banging on the door and threatening those inside, the statement says.
The pipe Waller was holding had a white, powder-like residue that tested positive for methamphetamine, the statement says.
