Police arrest man who allegedly entered sewer system armed in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON — Bloomington and Indiana University police have taken a man into custody who allegedly entered the city's sewer system armed with a gun.

The incident started when Bloomington Police Department officers were called to Seminary Park around 9:30 a.m. on the report of a man swinging a steel rod, according to a press release from Bloomington police. While they were responding, they got a report the man went to a nearby parking lot to get a hatchet.

The man, later identified as a 37-year-old, then walked towards people in the park and threw a hatchet at them before walking south on First Street, according to the release. Officers later determined the man entered a storm drain.

This led to an hours-long standoff involving SWAT teams and several emergency alerts from Indiana University.

As the investigation continued, Bloomington police said the man told officers and he would shoot them if he entered the storm drain, according to the release.

He was eventually arrested on several preliminary charges, according to the release. Formal charges haven't been filed. He also had an outstanding warrant out of Daviess County for battery against a public safety official.

Bloomington police say there were no shots fired and he only had an empty handgun holster, according to the release. No firearms were located in the sewer system, but officers will continue searching to locate any possible firearms.

IUPD also urged people to disregard false reports of an active shooter on campus. The suspect is barricaded in the storm system and is not on campus.

WRTV Senior Digital Content Producer Andrew Smith contributed to this report.