After Bartelt drove his truck onto a plaza near the school’s student union, university officials placed the campus on lockdown Thursday afternoon and ordered students to evacuate the student center.
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Brad Kenneth Bartelt, 47, appeared via video arraignment Friday.
According to the narrative, Bartelt told authorities at the scene that he was upset after being injured while driving a tractor-trailer at the Arkansas State University campus in Newport. 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.
Brad Kenneth Bartelt was charged Friday with aggravated assault, terroristic threatening, possession of explosive material and carrying a firearm in a publicly owned facility.
“He stated that he was going to come to the university and shoot other people but he realized that murder would be wrong, so he was going to kill himself”, the narrative read.
The Jonesboro Sun reported police as saying the suspect had two propane tanks in the back of the pickup truck. Police said they found an AR-15 during a search of Bartelt’s home after his arrest. During Friday’s hearing, Bartelt said, “I never meant to hurt anyone but myself”. “He wanted to do harm to himself”, Elliott said.
Bartelt drove through a barrier on campus, made donuts in front of the ASU Student Union before coming to a stop.
A January 29 hearing is set in Craighead County Circuit Court.
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Bartelt told police he was on several psychiatric medications and painkillers. Bartelt also reportedly got out of the truck and poured gasoline on the vehicle as police and negotiators spoke with him for about an hour. He told detectives had seen demons in the woods outside his house and tried to take pictures of them. “The Arkansas State community remains strong and we’re safe, thanks in large part to the quick action and cooperation of our law enforcement officers and safety personnel from the campus, the city, the region and the state”, ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson said in a statement. It wasn’t clear what was said in discussions, but Bartelt eventually threw the shotgun down and surrendered, Elliott said.
