LEWISVILLE, Texas — A North Texas man who harbored an obsession with a female co-worker now faces murder charges after police said he ambushed her at her cubicle shooting her multiple times.
Travis Merrill, 51, was arrested on Oct. 17 in the fatal shooting of Tamhara Collazo, whom he worked with at Allegiance Trucking in Lewisville.
Lewisville police officers responded quickly because the department’s temporary building shares a parking lot with the trucking accessory company on Lakeway Drive.
Police say that Merrill opened fire after Collazo came back from a lunch break. She suffered five gunshot wounds and was rushed to a hospital but died from her injuries.
According to the police affidavit, Merrill agreed to speak with the detective on the case.
Merrill confessed to the shooting, telling police he was "obsessed with Collazo and became increasingly angry" over what Merrill considered "unauthorized long breaks" and her "not paying any attention" to him.
The affidavit mentioned that Merrill's behavior happened over the course of several months.
Collazo reported Merrill’s behavior to the administration after she expressed to Merrill she didn't want him watching when she took her breaks, according to the report. Merrill told detectives that he was required to speak with a counselor on the phone before he could return to work.
When he returned, he told detectives he could tell “everyone must think he’s a psychopath” and Collazo was avoiding him. Merrill said that fueled his anger, so he started to purchase guns.
Merrill allegedly said he bought guns and “practiced his movements with them” at home. He went on to say his co-worker "had caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there," according to the affidavit.
Once before, Merrill told detectives he drove to work with his guns on his day off but remained in the parking lot. Police said the day before the shooting, he allegedly brought the guns to work but said “It didn’t feel like the right time.”
On the day of the shooting, Merrill allegedly admitted that he followed Collazo out to the parking lot during lunch break and watched her sit in her car while preparing his guns in his vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Merrill followed Collazo as she walked back inside the building and “ambushed” her at her cubicle shooting her at least four times, the affidavit claims.
Merrill is being held in the Denton County Jail on a $10,000,000 bond.
Allegiance Trucking issued the following statement on Tuesday:
"We are devastated and heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our team members who was killed in a shooting at our Lewisville office. The company is providing support to the victim's family and the rest of our employees who, thankfully, were unharmed, and we have closed our Lewisville office indefinitely. We are also working closely with law enforcement during their ongoing investigation. We ask for the community's support as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence.”