Investigators say Meyer also threatened to "kill as many people as he could" at an elementary school near his home.
It all started as a domestic incident and whether the threat was a serious one or not, Cedar Lake Police and the affected school certainly took it seriously.
What makes it all the more eerie is that the events were unfolding nearly at the same time as Adam Lanza was carrying out his own shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Police in Cedar Lake say that it all started on Friday morning when a woman reported that her husband, 60-year-old Von Meyer, had threatened to set her on fire as she slept, or alternately to go to the school where she works as a cafeteria employee, and take her out there, along with as many people as he could kill along the way.
The school is Jane Ball Elementary, next door to where Meyer lives. Police said as soon as they found out, they and the school went on alert.
"They have their SRO in the building the entire day," said Cedar Lake Police Chief Jerry Smith. "We brought out an additional officer to just sit in the back of the school."
Police said they also kept an eye on Meyer, waiting for the arrest warrant to come through. They finally arrested him Saturday without incident, but what they found inside the house was truly surprising. They seized up to 47 weapons and ammunition.
They describe most of the guns seized as collectors' items.
Meyer is now being held without bail in Lake County Jail.
The school has about 500 students, ranging from first to fifth grade.
