American woman shot dead by colleague because she took ‘long breaks’ during office hours

A tragic incident reportedly involved a 51-year-old woman shot and killed last week by an obsessed male colleague in an office building in Lewisville, Texas, because she was taking “long work breaks.”

The victim, identified as Tamhara Collazo, was rushed to a hospital by Lewisville police, but she succumbed to her injuries.

Suspect Travis Merrill (51) was arrested on Thursday after police said so shot and killed Collazo at her desk in Allegiance Trucks.

When questioned by police, Merrill told them that “he was obsessed with Collazo and became increasingly angry because she was taking what he perceived as unauthorized long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying attention to him (sic),” according to an affidavit from the arrest warrant.

After several months, Collazo told Merrill to stop watching her during her breaks and also reported his behavior to human resources. He was asked to consult with counsel before being cleared to return to work, the affidavit said.

Merrill also told police that Collazo deliberately avoided him after returning to work, which further fueled his anger.

Then he started buying guns and practicing with them at home.

On several occasions he also brought the weapons to work, but did not use them because he “didn’t feel like it at the right time”.

On the day of the murder, Merrill followed Collazo to the parking lot as she took her lunch break. He saw her sitting in her car as usual and then went to his car to retrieve two revolvers.

“When she came back in after lunch, he followed her to her cubicle and ‘ambushed’ her, firing the gun several times,” the affidavit said.

The shooting was witnessed by twenty colleagues.

Later, Merrill turned himself in to police as soon as they arrived.

The suspect is now being held in the Denton County Jail on murder charges.