Double homicide, baby-snatching suspect told FBI he would 'murder a bunch of children' months ago

May 7—Several months ago, a Texas man reportedly told the FBI that if the agency didn't help find his daughter, "he was going to murder a bunch of children."

On Friday, that same man, 26-year-old Alek Collins, allegedly killed two women, shot and injured a toddler and stole the 10-month-old child of one of the slain women at a park in Clovis.

Collins was charged Tuesday with two open counts of murder and child abuse and one count of kidnapping in the deaths of Taryn Allen, 23, and Samantha Cisneros, 23, and the snatching of Cisneros' daughter Eleia Torres.

Collins was arrested early Monday by authorities at a home in Abilene, Texas, according to court records. The baby was found inside the home unharmed and has been reunited with relatives.

Cisneros' 5-year-old daughter is hospitalized after police say Collins shot the girl in the head during the attack. A GoFundMe page for the family said the girl is "fighting for her life."

A GoFundMe set up for Allen's funeral costs said she "had so much life ahead of her, dreams to chase, and love to give."

The FBI would not comment or answer questions about the previous threats allegedly made by Collins, what steps were taken by the agency at that time, and if Collins' daughter had ever been reported missing.

"We are unable to further comment on this specific investigation, as we wouldn't want to speculate on the extent of or to limit our investigative actions," said Margot Cravens, spokeswoman for the FBI's Albuquerque Division.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Curry County Magistrate Court:

Clovis police were called around 4:30 p.m. on Friday to Ned Houk Park, where an officer found the bodies of Cisneros and Allen near a silver van parked by the playground. Both women had been shot and several 9mm casings littered the ground.

The toddler was alive but badly injured, having been shot in the head. The officer gave the child water and cushions to lay on as he called for an ambulance.

The 911 caller told police they pulled into the park and found the bodies. Another person at the park said they had heard several gunshots earlier.

The officer grew concerned after noticing a baby bottle left on the ground, an empty stroller beside the van and a car seat buckled inside. The officer wrote in the affidavit, "I was unable to locate another child nearby."

An Amber Alert was soon issued for Torres.

The FBI got involved, and authorities executed a search of cell tower records for any phones used in the area. Collins' phone was discovered to be in the area around the time of the incident.

Police found video of the car Collins was believed to be driving at a McDonald's drive-thru in the area. Police contacted the car's owner and found it had been rented to Collins on April 21 through an app.

The owner told police that Collins had not returned the car on April 23, as he was supposed to. The car's GPS records showed it had been at the park when the homicide occurred.

The owner told police he disabled the car on Saturday when it was pinging in Abilene. Abilene police went to the home and saw a man — later identified as Collins — pushing the car out of the garage and into the street.

"Due to an incident occurring at the residence, local agents acted on detaining the subject," according to the affidavit. The court document did not detail what the "incident" was, and Abilene police did not respond to Journal calls.

Officers found Torres, the baby, at the home and "accommodations were made to get the child back to her family." Police also found a Glock 43x, a 9mm handgun, at the scene.

"Collins was transported to another area, where an interview was conducted," an officer wrote in the affidavit. "We later learned Collins admitted to taking Eleia but not to shooting any of the victims."

During the investigation, authorities learned that Collins made threats to the FBI months ago.

On Oct. 10, Collins had called the FBI National Threat Operations Center and said, "If the FBI did not help him in finding his daughter he was going to murder a bunch of children."

At the time, Collins said he called the FBI days earlier and "was told a case was going to be generated in finding his daughter," but local police took him to a psychiatric hospital instead.

Collins told the FBI that he doesn't "want to kill people but (it) seems to be the only way in getting the FBI to assist him." He said at the time that he once kidnapped a mother and son, sending a photo to the FBI, before agents helped find his daughter.

Collins told the FBI that he had no weapons of his own, but they were "easily accessible to him."

It's unclear what, if anything, was done after Collins made these threats. An FBI spokeswoman would not answer questions on the matter.