Armed suspect taken into custody at Arkansas State University

By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - An armed man crashed a pickup truck carrying propane tanks on the campus of Arkansas State University on Thursday and was taken into custody by police after a standoff lasting about an hour, school officials said, adding that no one was injured.

The suspect was identified as Brad Bartelt, 47, a former student at a separate campus of Arkansas State, the university's police chief said, adding that a motive was not yet known.

The truck held two large canisters of propane gas and a gasoline can. At one point Bartelt, who was brandishing a shotgun, was splashing gasoline from the container over his truck, Police Chief Randy Martin told a news conference.

He was being held for aggravated assault.

The university in Jonesboro, about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock, was placed on lockdown after the suspect crashed the vehicle. The school kept the lockdown in place as police investigated the scene.

Pictures of the suspect's vehicle published by local media showed a pickup truck with an American flag flying near the tail.

Other photos on social media showed the suspect at one point draping what appeared to be a "Don't Tread on Me" flag on his truck.

"There is no continuing danger from today’s incident.” Tim Hudson, chancellor of ASU, said at the news conference.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Steve Barnes in Little Rock and Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Tom Brown)

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