Armed man arrested outside High Point church during Sunday services

At 10:15 a.m., a 911 call sent officers to 1225 Chestnut Dr., where an armed man was sitting in a truck in Wesley Memorial Church’s Chestnut Drive parking lot.

An off-duty officer working at the church moved immediately toward the parking lot, and backup officers arrived within minutes. Police disarmed 44-year-old William S. Milliken III of Thomasville and took him into custody without injuries to churchgoers, staff or officers.

Milliken was wearing a plate carrier, or body armor, when officers arrested him. A search of his truck turned up two flamethrowers, two crossbows, three knives, rolls of black duct tape, oxycodone pills, a CO2-powered launcher designed to resemble a handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition. Police charged him with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, impersonation of a law enforcement officer and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. He was being held at the Guilford County Jail in High Point.

Authorities told the congregation there was no ongoing threat after the incident on the church’s campus. The church was grateful for the fast response from the High Point Police Department and its security team. Its Sunday worship schedule lists services at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Curtis Cheeks III, the High Point police chief, credited both the caller and the officers. In its 2025 annual report, the High Point Police Department put overall crime 9% lower last year, gun crime down 6% and officers seizing more than 440 firearms.