Campus Alert Archive
A-State

A Man, a Shotgun, and a Propane Tank Lock Down Arkansas State for an Hour

ARarmed personemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On December 10, 2015, an armed man drove onto the Arkansas State University campus in Jonesboro and sparked a campus-wide lockdown. Brad Kenneth Bartelt, 47, who had posted online that he was homicidal, had a 12-gauge shotgun, a can of gasoline, and a 100-pound propane tank in his truck. After roughly an hour-long standoff outside the Carl R. Reng Student Union, he surrendered to police. No shots were fired and no one was injured.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Arkansas State University
Public R2 · AR
~14,000 studentsASU-Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction154 chars
ASU-Alert: Armed subject on campus. Lockdown in effect. Go inside, lock doors, stay away from windows, and remain in place until you receive an all-clear.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed paraphrase: reporting confirms a campus-wide lockdown beginning after the 1:33 p.m. CST initial call, but the exact ASU-Alert wording was not located, so this is marked isVerbatimConfirmed:false.
The university initially reported an 'active shooter situation,' though no shots were ever fired; the suspect had a shotgun, gasoline, and a 100-pound propane tank in his truck.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction129 chars
ASU-Alert: The suspect is in custody and the lockdown is lifted. There is no active threat on campus. Normal activity may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstruction reflects the documented surrender around 2:46 p.m. CST and the chancellor's statement that there was no active threat after the arrest.
Qualifies as a true all-clear because it lifts the lockdown and announces the suspect in custody.
Context

Background

Arkansas State University's flagship campus is in Jonesboro (Central Time). On December 10, 2015, the initial call came in at 1:33 PM CST as Brad Kenneth Bartelt, 47, of Jonesboro drove his truck through a barrier and made donuts in front of the Carl R. Reng Student Union before stopping. Police, who described Bartelt as having posted that he was homicidal, found a 12-gauge shotgun, a can of gasoline, and a 100-pound propane tank in the truck. After an hour-long standoff, Bartelt threw down the shotgun and surrendered around 2:46 PM CST; no shots were fired and no one was injured. He faced charges including first-degree terroristic threatening, aggravated assault, criminal possession of an explosive device, and carrying a firearm in a publicly owned facility. The university initially used 'active shooter' language even though no shots were fired — a notable communication detail. Because the verbatim ASU-Alert wording was not recovered, the alerts here are honest reconstructions consistent with the reporting.
Analysis

Key Findings

An armed man drove onto the Arkansas State campus in Jonesboro on December 10, 2015, prompting an hour-long lockdown that began after the 1:33 PM CST initial call
Brad Kenneth Bartelt had a shotgun, gasoline, and a 100-pound propane tank but fired no shots before surrendering around 2:46 PM CST
No one was injured; Bartelt faced terroristic threatening, aggravated assault, and explosive-device charges
The university's initial 'active shooter' framing for an incident with no shots fired illustrates the tension between speed and precision in emergency notifications
Outcome
Bartelt threw down the shotgun and surrendered around 2:46 PM CST after an hour-long standoff. No shots were fired and no one was injured. He faced charges including first-degree terroristic threatening, aggravated assault, criminal possession of an explosive device, and carrying a firearm in a publicly owned facility.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Chancellor: No active threat at ASU after suspected gunman's arrest - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    arkansasonline.com
  2. News
    Police: Death on ASU suspect's mind - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    arkansasonline.com
  3. News
    Arkansas State gunman in custody, no one hurt - WREG
    wreg.com
Tags
armed-subjectemergency-notificationarkansaslockdownstandoffexplosive-device
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion