Lubbock, Texas — A 45-year-old North Vietnamese refugee accused of threatening to carry out a church shooting has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm following an FBI-led probe. Hieu Tran Trung, prohibited from owning guns due to a 1998 assault conviction, now faces federal charges after allegedly soliciting a friend to supply him with a weapon and later sending photos of firearms and ammunition.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Texas, Trung told a close friend he planned to “spray up” random people at his church. The friend alerted the FBI, triggering an investigation by the FBI Dallas’ Lubbock Resident Agency, supported by ATF, HSI, and local law enforcement. Trung made his initial court appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr.
In July, Trung allegedly asked the friend to “get me one of them straps,” street slang for a gun. When refused, he escalated—sending a photo on July 7 of himself holding two firearms. Days later, he sent images of a large cache of ammunition with the text “locked and leaded.” He reportedly told the friend people weren’t taking him seriously and claimed he could kill someone and flee town.
Law enforcement executed a search of Trung’s residence, uncovering a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol hidden inside a briefcase. The weapon had one round in the chamber and was accompanied by two additional loaded magazines stored in a shoulder holster. Evidence suggests the gun was ready for immediate use.
“I’m grateful to the citizen who reported his friend’s concerning behavior to federal authorities. His courage in speaking out may well have saved lives,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “It’s critical that we act quickly when we get information like this and I commend our law enforcement partners who immediately intervened before the defendant could inflict real harm.”
“The defendant knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms, but still went out of his way to illegally obtain them. He also threatened to use these illegal firearms against his perceived enemies,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “We moved quickly to prevent a violent crime.” Trung faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Haag under Project Guardian, the Justice Department’s initiative to combat gun violence using federal firearm laws.
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