In fact, ASU stated in a news alert the man had not fired any shots after driving a pickup truck into the middle of the school’s campus, toward the “east side of Reng Student Union”.
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“There were times he got out the truck sprinkling gas on the truck and holding the gun on himself”, said Rick Elliott, Jonesboro’s Police chief.
According to the JPD news release, police had been sent to check on Bartelt Wednesday night after receiving a report that he had posted comments on social media “indicating he was experiencing homicidal and suicidal feelings”.
The Jonesboro resident was identified by local police as 47-year-old Brad Kenneth Bartelt.
No shots or injuries were yet reported, but the university was put on lockdown shortly after the first reports of the armed man about 1:50 p.m.
The suspect was spotted at the student union and the school advised people to evacuate the area, it said. The school says the suspect is in police custody.
Police locked down the Jonesboro campus, and negotiators from the city Police Department’s SWAT team talked Bartelt into surrendering at 2:46 p.m., Jonesboro police spokesman Paul Holmes said.
The incident happened Thursday as students were taking final exams. Arkansas State said tests that were scheduled for Thursday night will be administered next week. Campus is closed for the rest of the day.
University Police Chief Randy Martin praised the fast response and the cooperation of numerous outside agencies that assisted in the response, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad, and the Craighead County Sheriff’s Department.
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An armed man drove into the campus grounds, forcing the school into lockdown. No injuries have been reported.
