Armed man involved in Arkansas State University incident now in custody

The university said on Twitter at 1:35 p.m. that a possible active shooter had been spotted at the student union and that students should evacuate the building.

The incident reportedly began when the suspect drove into the centre of the campus.

No one was injured Thursday at Arkansas State University, where police say a man drove onto campus with a shotgun, a can of gasoline and a large propane tank in the back of his truck. Officials kept the campus on lockdown as police examined the truck, Smith said. A green pickup truck parked on grass is believed to be related to the school lockdown.

The campus sounded an alarm that made students scurry, but the Jonesboro police chief said it seemed Brad Bartelt posed a greater threat to himself during Thursday’s incident.

Campus is closed for the rest of the day, according to the university.

Arkansas State has over 13,000 students and Jonesboro suffered its own mass shooting in 1998, when two boys who went to Westside Middle School gunned down four of their fellow students and one of their teachers.

However, when officers arrived they found Bartelt was already receiving medical treatment.

According to the Arkansas State tweets, the alleged gunman was surrounded 14 minutes later by police, with no shots being fired. Exams that had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon and evening have been rescheduled for next Wednesday, the university said. The suspect was captured with no reported injuries or shots fired.

The school has kept the lockdown in place as police investigate the scene, it said on its Twitter feed.

Holmes says police are sending a tactical unit as well to respond to the situation.

University spokesman Bill Smith says the university was placed on lockdown after the man drove onto campus.

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