A man is in custody after arriving at the Dallas Police Department's Southwest Patrol Substation Wednesday with a mask, two handguns and marijuana, police said. [[420540354,R]]
The man, later identified by police as 33-year-old Adan Salazar, was driving a Dodge Durango when he was stopped at the front entrance by officers who are assigned to guard the facility. He then began making statements that led the officers to take him into custody for a mental health evaluation, police said.
Police said Salazar then admitted to having weapons in the vehicle, and officers discovered two 9mm handguns along with a Guy Fawkes mask.
"There was a point in time where he made the comment to one of the officers that detained him that he intended to shoot," Deputy Chief Albert Martinez said. "He didn't elaborate if he intended to shoot the station, shoot the officers, but he did say he intended to shoot."
Salazar is charged with making a terroristic threat, unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of marijuana.
The Southwest Patrol Substation is located on the 4200 block of West Illinois Avenue.
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Martinez said police have received other threats and they take them very seriously.
Three of the five officers killed in the July 2016 ambush on police in Downtown Dallas and three of the injured were from the Southwest Patrol.
A makeshift security set up to screen visitors to the Southwest Substation has been in place since the attack on Dallas Police Department headquarters in June 2015.
That temporary screening arrangement diverted the suspicious visitor for questioning Wednesday afternoon before he did any potential harm.
Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, said the incident should compel the city to upgrade security measures at department substations.
"They were in the right place at the right time, let's be honest," Mata said. What if they hadn't been outside the station at that time. What if this had happened in the evening? It's time for the city to do what they said they would do two years ago and upgrade the facilities with fencing and some type of guarded access so that officers can feel safe in their second home."
The city of Dallas has been considering permanent security improvements at all police facilities ever since the June 2015 attack on DPD headquarters.
Some improvements have been installed, but Deputy Chief Martinez said the Southwest Substation is still waiting. The city had money for upgrades included in the 2017 bond package that is currently delayed indefinitely.
NBC5's Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report.
