Police arrest ‘potentially armed and dangerous’ man at UK Hospital
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Police have released more details about the situation at UK Hospital.
University of Kentucky Police Chief Joe Monroe said in a press conference that had received information from Versailles police that a potentially armed and dangerous person was coming to the hospital to visit a family member.
UK Police were able to stop the man, identified as Bryan Carroll, of Versailles, at the hospital without incident and arrest him.
Police say Carroll had weapons and body armor on him and suspected explosive devices were found in his vehicle.
People were asked to avoid the area around the UK Hospital emergency room while hazmat crews checked it out. The FBI and ATF both responded to the scene to help.
We’re told the all-clear has been given and the hospital has returned to normal operations.
Nicholasville Road/South Limestone, near the hospital’s emergency department, was closed while crews worked the scene. The road has reopened.
Carroll is facing a total of 14 charges in this case, including possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and four counts of use of weapon of mass destruction. Police didn’t go into any detail about those possible explosives. Carroll is now being held in the Fayette County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond.
He has a long history of arrests in Woodford County including kidnapping, assault, drug charges, domestic charges and traffic charges.
For a lot of UK students, this scene was in their own backyard. Several students were in the middle of class when they heard something was happening.
UK student Zach Whiteman says he had just arrived to class when he got a UK Alert.
“I walk in the alarms are going off, the yellow things flashing everywhere I’m like should I leave should I stay?”
Whiteman says several of his friends are nursing students. He immediately got in touch with them. He says they told him they were in safe spots around the hospital.
Other UK students said they didn’t get a notification for the UK Alert, but knew something was wrong when they saw the FBI and ATF jackets, firetrucks and heavy police presence.
“I walk by this every day pretty much so it’s definitely alarming,” UK student Matthew Finnicum said.
Versailles police are still blocking off part of Aberdeen Road, where court records show Carroll lives.
One man who lives in this neighborhood says his mom works at UK Hospital, and she happened to be working remotely today. Shortly after hearing about the situation at the hospital, they saw flashing lights in their own neighborhood.
“It’s like a multi level connection where my mom worked there and she was lucky enough to not be there today and I go to lunch and then see it right there, that’s just really weird having to think about that because it’s like dang he lived just down the road from me,” neighbor Wesley Forte said.
Lexington Police, UK Police, and a Special Response Team in tactical gear are in the neighborhood.
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