Active shooter alert in effect on Arkansas State campus

The gunman who prompted a campus lockdown at Arkansas State University said he initially wanted to shoot other people but changed his mind and was planning on killing himself before he was arrested, police said Friday.

The Jonesboro resident was identified by local police as 47-year-old Brad Kenneth Bartelt.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Bartelt said he was feeling homicidal and suicidal and complained about a recent decision in a Social Security case, police said.

Jonesboro police say Brad Bartelt drove his truck onto a campus plaza in a threatening manner Thursday.

The incident happened as students were taking final exams.

The chief said the man was taken into custody without incident and will face charges. “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. Arkansas State said tests that were scheduled for Thursday night will be administered next week. The man was taken into custody at about 2:45, just about one hour after the first report of an armed man on campus.

However, the university tells those on campus to avoid the Heritage Lawn area east of the union until further notice. No injuries have been reported.

Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott said officers with his department and campus police responded at about 1:30 p.m.to a report of an armed man who had driven a pickup truck onto the campus. Bartelt drove through a barrier on campus, made donuts in front of the ASU Student Union before coming to a stop.

University spokesman Bill Smith says the man displayed a weapon but no shots have been fired.

The FBI, Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad and Craighead County Sheriff’s Department were among the agencies cooperating with one another in response to the situation.

The school sent an alert early Thursday afternoon urging everyone to leave the student union amid reports of an active shooter. He says no shots were fired. Jonesboro police spokesman Paul Holmes said additional charges are likely.

The university is located in Jonesboro, about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock.