UConn Responds To Hernandez Threats Outlined In Warrant

STORRS, CT — University of Connecticut officials said there was no "imminent threat" to the campus in connection with threats made by Dennis "DJ" Hernndez, a former Husky football player and brother of the late New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez.

UConn officials released the following statement Wednesday:

"The UConn Police Department was aware of initial information related to the subsequent arrest of Dennis Hernandez by the Bristol Police Department. Police departments evaluate threats for credibility and imminence and the necessary resources are deployed to address the threat. At the time, there was no known imminent threat to UConn. The Bristol Police Department located Hernandez and took him into custody a short time later. The UConn Police Department treats any potential threat to our campus communities with the utmost seriousness. If anyone has any information on threats or concerns related to our campuses, they are urged to contact the UConn Police Department with this information as soon as possible."

DJ Hernandez has now been arrested for a fourth time this year and, in his latest brush with the law, he is accused of planning school shootings that include UConn and Brown University, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WFSB.

According to the warrant, multiple people came to police with concerns that Hernandez was mentally ill and had been displaying erratic behavior. The warrant cites two people claiming that that Hernandez had traveled to the two schools to "map them out" for mass shootings.

One of the people police interviewed was a woman who said she had been dating Hernandez but they had recently broken up, according to the warrant. The woman said she had witnessed Hernandez have a breakdown earlier this month after people recognized him at a beach in Rhode Island.

According to the warrant, police said threatening texts were directed at UConn. One said:

"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 ... They are going to get surprised ... 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 ... Not all shootings are bad I'm realizing. Some are necessary for change to happen."

According to the warrant, police also said they found numerous threats made by Hernandez on his social media and through texts, writing in the warrant that "it became readily apparent that (Hernandez) was gravely disabled and a danger to society."

In March, Hernandez was arrested and he is accused of throwing a brick on ESPN's Bristol campus and engaging police in pursuit.

He was arrested again in July for skipping a court hearing.

DJ Hernandez and his brother, Aaron Hernandez, are Bristol natives. Aaron Hernandez was a Pro Bowl tight end for the Patriots. He was convicted of murder in 2015 and took his own life in a Massachusetts prison in 2017. His life has been heavily documented in the media.

>>>You can read the full six-page arrest warrant via WFSB 3 TV by clicking here.