Brother of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez arrested and charged following concerns over threats

By Zenebou Sylla and Rob Frehse, CNN

(CNN) — The brother of the late New England Patriots player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez was arrested last week after police received complaints about threats he allegedly made, according to an incident report from police in Bristol, Connecticut.

Dennis John “DJ” Hernandez, 37, was charged with breach of peace in the second degree and threatening physical threat following his arrest, according to the police report.

The incident report details threats he allegedly made against an unidentified woman and her concerns that he may have been “planning to do a ‘school shooting.’ “

CNN has sought comment from Hernandez’s attorney at the public defender’s office in New Britain, Connecticut.

Hernandez’s brother was former NFL star and Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder in the 2013 killing of semipro football player Odin Lloyd. Aaron Hernandez was found hanged in his Massachusetts prison cell in April 2017, just days after his acquittal in a separate murder case.

When DJ Hernandez was arrested, he yelled “shoot me,” disregarded numerous police commands and was stunned with a Taser and taken into custody, police said.

After his arrest, he was transferred to a hospital, where he continued to make threats, stating that he was planning to still kill people and anyone who profited off his brother Aaron, according to the police report.

Hernandez made university threats, police say

Police say DJ Hernandez was sending concerning messages to a woman he knew – a woman authorities say told told them Hernandez had traveled to Rhode Island’s Brown University and the University of Connecticut to “map the schools out.” The woman said she surmised that he did because he was planning to carry out a school shooting, according to the police report.

DJ Hernandez, a former University of Connecticut student and football player, went into several classrooms and buildings at the school, a separate woman told police, according to the report. She said she had allowed Hernandez to use her car that day so he could attend court.

Police at the University of Connecticut located her car on campus on the day of Hernandez’s scheduled court appearance in July, according to the report. They were aware of Hernandez’s presence on campus that day but found no imminent threat to the campus at the time of the incident, University of Connecticut spokesman Mike Enright told CNN.

“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,” Enright said. “The UConn Police Department treats any potential threat to our campus communities with the utmost seriousness.”

Hernandez, who was a football coach at Brown University for one year, had not been on the school’s campus in the recent weeks, a spokesman for the university told CNN.

“On July 18, 2023, officers from the Bristol Police Department in Connecticut alerted Brown’s Department of Public Safety to alleged threats by Hernandez that referenced multiple schools,” spokesman Brian E. Clark told CNN. “Brown Police implemented protective measures immediately and remained in contact with police in Connecticut, who arrested the suspect shortly thereafter.”

Concerning social media posts, police say

Police say Hernandez also provided numerous social media posts that contained threatening and concerning language. The report cites a victim who, according to police, was concerned about Hernandez’s mental health as of mid-July.

“Will I kill? Absolutely, I’ve warned my enemies so pay up front,” one of the posts by Hernandez reads, according to the report.

Police decided to arrest him because they believed he was “gravely disabled and a danger to society,” according to the report.

Hernandez was being held on a $250,000 cash bond at the Department of Corrections and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday, according to the New Britain Superior Court clerk’s office.

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