Brother of late NFL star Pat Tillman arrested after fiery crash at San Jose post office

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The brother of late NFL star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman was arrested in connection with fiery car crash at a San Jose, California, post office over the weekend, the family confirmed in a statement Monday.

Richard Tillman, 44, of San Jose was arrested after the car rammed into the office located in a strip mall around 3 a.m. Sunday, causing the building to go up in flames, San Jose police said. No injuries were reported.

The incident is being investigated as a “potentially intentional act,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said in an email Monday. There was no information about a possible motive.

About 50 firefighters took about an hour and a half to knock down the flames at the Almaden Valley Station Post Office south of downtown. Photos posted online by the fire department showed a charred vehicle inside the heavily damaged one-story building.

Tillman was booked on suspicion of arson. He was held in lieu of $60,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, according to online custody records. A phone number could not be located for Tillman. Messages were sent to the Santa Clara County District Attorney asking if he has an attorney.

His brother Kevin Tillman shared a statement from the family who said they were relieved no one was hurt.

“To be clear, it’s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years,” the family said. “He has been livestreaming, what I’ll call, his altered self on social media for anyone to witness. Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be.”

The family said they had limited information but were in communication with local authorities.

Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after 9/11 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 at age 27. His family is from the San Jose area.

Kevin Tillman also left his Major League Baseball career with the Anaheim Angels to serve in the military.

Richard Tillman was largely out of the public eye in the years following his brother’s death.

Nearly 2 million people live in the metropolitan area of San Jose, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of downtown San Francisco.

FILE - Richard Tillman, left, the brother of former Arizona State player Pat Tillman, greets one of his brother's former teammates Jake Plummer, right, prior to a ceremony retiring Pat's jersey during halftime of the Washington State and Arizona State game, Nov. 13, 2004, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)

FILE - Former Arizona State player Pat Tillman's wife Marie Tillman, center, and his brother Richard Tillman, left, applaud as they watch Pat's name and jersey number enshrined in the university's ring of honor during halftime ceremonies between Washington State and Arizona State, Nov. 13, 2004, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors, File)

This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into a Post Office, early Sunday, July 20, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Fire Department via AP)

This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into a Post Office, early Sunday, July 20, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Fire Department via AP)

This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into the Post Office, early Sunday, July 20, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (San Jose Fire Department via AP)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)