Texas Department of Public Safety investigators received a unit citation Wednesday for stopping a planned mass attack during last year’s July Fourth events in the Texas Panhandle.
The Public Safety Commission and DPS Colonel Freeman F. Martin presented the award in Austin to the Criminal Investigations Division Amarillo unit. Their actions led to the arrest of Kevin Hunt, now 19, who pleaded guilty April 29, 2026, to federal charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
DPS began monitoring Hunt in February 2025 after his release from a juvenile mental health program and while he was on intensive supervision probation. Investigators reviewed his digital communications, social media posts, surveillance activity, and grievance-based statements. Hunt posted about self-harm and a desire to carry out a mass-casualty attack, along with ongoing grievances that raised concerns of a targeted plot.
When Hunt conducted activities matching site surveillance near local Independence Day events, officers moved quickly. On July 2, 2025, he was detained on an emergency mental health warrant through a joint effort by DPS CID, the Amarillo Police Department, and the Randall County District Attorney’s Office. A search warrant executed at his home recovered multiple firearms, high-capacity magazines loaded with armor-piercing and full-metal-jacket rounds, components for improvised explosive devices, materials for making explosives, and digital files that included instructions for explosive manufacture and a self-authored manifesto. Hunt admitted to producing explosive compounds.
He was federally indicted September 10, 2025, on the weapon of mass destruction charge, which required U.S. Department of Justice approval. State charges of possession of components of explosives, terrorism, and attempted capital murder of multiple persons followed; the terrorism count marked the first of its kind filed in Texas. Hunt is scheduled for federal sentencing next month, with the state trial set in Randall County later this year.
On July 15, 2026, a co-conspirator was indicted by a state grand jury on charges of hindering prosecution of terrorism and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. She was arrested days later and extradited from California to Texas.
The unit citation was presented to Lieutenants William “Bill” Brown, Jered Snelgrooe, and Robert “Ben” Dollar, and Special Agents Logan Eastburn, Christopher Ecker, Alex Gallagher, Micah Goodrich, Shannon Henderson, Norman “Joe” Livermore, Jimmy Phoutthavong, Kendall Styles, Aaron Tarnutzer, and Trevor Dillard.
Provided by Dallas Express
