He stayed inside his truck most of the time but got out once to douse the cab with gasoline.
Advertisement
Officers had visited Bartelt’s home Wednesday after learning of an apparently suicidal Facebook post he had written that day, said Jonesboro Police Department spokesman Paul Holmes.
Reuters noted that a man in a pickup truck, with a firearm, crashed his vehicle on the school’s campus sparking panic and standoff with law enforcement officials. The 47-year-old resident of Jonesboro, Arkansas, had posted on Facebook he was homicidal before driving onto the campus.
At one point, Elliott said, the man poured gasoline on his own truck. The university lifted a lockdown for all parts of campus except for the east side of the student union.
As for the suspect’s motive, the university cited Police Chief Elliot as having indicated that the authorities have yet to determine the answer. Classes were to resume today, and other final exams were to proceed as scheduled.
Once the incident started, Arkansas State University officials moved students to the west side of the Carl R. Reng Student Union and secured them.
Taylor Davidson, a campus sophomore from Jonesboro, said he was in the student union when the gunman drove up.
The man drove to the middle of campus in a green pickup truck with propane tanks in the back that were “ready to blow”.
“He said that they did not treat him right and pay for certain expenses and bills resulting from the injury”, the report states.
According to A-State, the incident started when the suspect drove into center of campus.
After containing the situation, Elliot says officers approached Bartelt, who had a 12 gauge shotgun pointed under his chin. He also said that no shots were fired.
Arkansas State University Chancellor Dr. Tim Hudson says students are being trained in how to deal with an active shooter alert on campus.
Advertisement
ASU Chief of Police Randy Martin praised the handling of the incident by his officers and those of the Jonesboro department and Craighead County Sheriff’s Office.
