SAN ANTONIO — Today Chief of the Alamo Rangers, Mark Adkins, released the following statement in response to an incident of criminal vandalism resulting in an arrest at the Alamo:

"On September 3, 2015, at approximately 4:40 p.m. an individual was observed by an Alamo Tour Guide inside the Alamo Church, in the room known as the Monks' Burial Room, desecrating the wall using a car key. An Alamo Tour Guide confronted the individual who attempted to flee the building, but was detained by Alamo Rangers until the San Antonio Police Department could arrive and take the individual into custody. He was then held overnight and charged.

"In Texas we take our history seriously and consider the Alamo to be sacred ground. Desecration of any part of these hallowed grounds, especially the walls of the Alamo Chapel, will not be tolerated and we will support prosecution to the furthest extent of the law."

The area has been cordoned off while historic preservation and restoration experts evaluate the damage and assess appropriate repairs.

The Alamo Rangers are Government Letter of Authority (GLOA) Commissioned Security Officers registered with the Texas Department of Public Safety that are entrusted with protecting the shrine of Texas liberty along with the visiting public as well as the residents of the city of San Antonio.  Mark Adkins was recently named Chief of Alamo Rangers after retiring from the U.S. Army with rank of Major. Chief Adkins' distinguished career includes a long history of protecting communities throughout Texas and San Antonio. He has been tasked with increasing security at the Alamo including upgrading disaster preparedness for the treasured historical site.

Most recently Chief Adkins served as an Operations Officer in the Military Police at Fort Sam Houston for the U.S. Fifth Army (ARNORTH). In his role he assisted in planning security for events at Fort Sam Houston involving more than 950 personnel. Chief Adkins was the ARNORTH liaison officer during all anti-terrorism/force protection exercises and real world events. He conducted inspections of five subordinate organizations in support of quality control measures for anti-terrorism/force protection, physical security, training, supply procedures and adherence to organizational policies. Chief Adkins was assigned to coordinate security efforts with multiple Army, Air Force, and civilian agencies during the 2014 Fiesta San Antonio.

Before Fort Sam Houston, Adkins served in Korea and developed policies, plans and strategies required to implement Army anti-terrorism (AT) programs and initiatives throughout Korea. He conducted staff assistance visits and program inspections for all major Army commands in the Korean theater of operations. Before Korea, he was stationed at Saint Mary's University in San Antonio and trained, mentored, instructed, and counseled more than 150 university ROTC students from seven universities. Additionally he served as the primary adviser on police operations to the only Iraqi National Police Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Battalion during which he coached, mentored, trained and counseled more than 725 foreign national personnel on police and military operations.