HOUSTON – A Houston man has been arrested after the police say he threatened to shoot FBI agents if they didn't pay him money.
Kamal Said Taleb, of Houston, told the FBI operations center in northwest Houston he would use a gun at the center, according to court records reviewed by Local 2 Investigative reporter Jace Larson.
"(He) spoke in a very heavy accent -- broken English -- and then basically stated that he was going to obtain an M16, which is an assault rifle," said Shauna Dunlap, of the Houston FBI.
Police say Taleb made his first call to the agency in December.
Authorities said he demanded $1.7 million and claimed the federal government owed him the money.
The FBI told Local 2 they do not owe Taleb any money.
The call was recorded and police said they tracked it back to Taleb's Houston phone.
Police said he called again on Jan. 15.
According to court documents, on the second call he "stated that if he was not given his money he could use a gun to get it."
"During the first call, he said he was going to obtain an M16 which is known to be an assault rifle. Then during the second call he was going to obtain a weapon and use that," Dunlap said.
Investigators with the FBI's joint terrorism task force, called Taleb, got his address and arrested him. He is charged with one count of making a terroristic threat. He is currently out on bond.
"All of us, including the officers who are part of our JTTF, have been constantly, very aware of the heightened alerts and potential threats to law enforcement officers across the country," said Dunlap. "These are matters we take seriously."
Taleb told Larson on Wednesday that he did not make any threats.
Prosecutors tell Local 2 that the Houston Police Department's mental health unit offered Taleb help when they found him homeless in 2012.