A Tallahassee man, who told troopers he "hated his country," was arrested on charges of shooting at a vacant Killearn church and other weapons offenses early Sunday morning.

Benjamin Spivey, of North Shannon Lakes Drive, was taken into custody by Florida Highway Patrol troopers around 1:30 a.m. after a clerk from a nearby Circle K flagged down an officer saying a customer was inside the gas station who was threatening to kill the clerk and behaving belligerently, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

When the trooper approached the 39-year-old, he noticed that Spivey had a bulge in his lower back. The trooper immediately detained Spivey without incident and removed a black Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol from his waistband/lower back area. The trooper could smell a fresh gunpowder odor emanating from the firearm.

Spivey was clearly intoxicated and was having mood swings, according to the FHP report.

"The subject began crying and stated that he "hated his country'," FHP reported.

When troopers asked Spivey if he had any plans on robbing the store with an empty gun, he replied that he fired all his rounds into the church near the gas station.

Troopers checked the Four Oaks Church Killearn parking lot north of the gas station and found 10 spent .40 caliber shells and bullet holes in the church building.

How the pastor responded to the incident

Paul Gilbert, senior pastor of the congregation which sees 600 to 700 adults and children on any given Sunday, said he received the news by text when he awoke at 4:30 a.m. He said the damage looked worse than it was, but the event was disturbing.

“It didn’t smash any windows, it just put holes in them. They lodged themselves into the furniture and into the walls,” Gilbert said.

“Anytime someone shoots 10 shots into the church, it’s not a lot of physical damage, it’s more the trauma," Gilbert said in an interview with Tallahassee Democrat. Windows will have to be replaced, some furniture needs to be reupholstered and walls repaired with drywall and paint.

Gilbert said around 1:30 a.m. TPD notified the facility manager, who then sent him a text.

The church leadership sent out an email blast to members before service and talked about the incident during worship service. In the email, church leaders reassured the members that they take security seriously and that an armed Leon County Sheriff’s deputy is assigned to all Sunday services.

“At the time we didn’t know the person who was involved. We were told it was an issue of vandalism,” Gilbert said. “We wanted to pray for the guy responsible. He was having some personal struggles and issues.”

Spivey was charged with property damage/criminal mischief for shooting at a church or synagogue, use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, discharging a firearm in public, and displaying a firearm during the commission of a felony. He is being held at the Leon County Detention Center.

Hours earlier, FHP troopers were present backing up Tallahassee Police Department officers who had been dealing with Spivey. At that time, they were asked to remove Spivey from the gas station and did so without incident. Spivey lives just over half a mile away from the convenience store.

Follow Andrew Skerritt on Twitter at @andrewjskerritt.