Police arrest man with weapons, body armor at University of Kentucky Hospital
University of Kentucky police arrested without incident an allegedly armed man Thursday at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital’s Emergency Department.
UK Police had gotten word from police in Versailles that a potentially armed and dangerous man was coming to the hospital to visit a relative, UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said. The man, identified as Bryan Carroll, was able to get into the hospital and visit the relative, but police found him using the hospital’s surveillance system. Carroll was arrested without incident as he started to walk out of the hospital, Monroe said.
Carroll, 44, was found to have weapons and body armor on him, and suspected explosive devices were found in his car, Monroe said.
Carroll was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center Thursday afternoon on multiple charges, including four counts of third-degree use of a weapon of mass destruction, five counts of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a weapon on school property, according to the jail website. He’s also charged with resisting arrest, fleeing from police, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Monroe said federal charges also were possible.
A person can be charged in state court with third-degree use of a weapon of mass destruction if “intentionally, without lawful authority, he or she places a weapon of mass destruction at any location in the Commonwealth,” according to state statutes. The charge is a class C felony.
No information about Carroll’s intentions or reasons for being armed had been released as of Thursday night.
No one was injured, but police from multiple agencies, including the FBI and ATF, were at the scene for hours investigating. The stretch of South Limestone in front of the hospital’s emergency department was also shut down for hours.
“No one was in danger at any time,” Monroe said. “This was a very quick response and takedown.”
Monroe said he couldn’t comment on whether or not federal authorities searched Carroll’s home in Versailles, but police blocked off a street in Versailles in the area of the home where court records say Carroll lived.
Lexington police, UK police and a special response team in tactical gear arrived around 6 p.m. on the same street, according to WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner.
While multiple agencies were in the neighborhood Thursday evening, the FBI and ATF were in the process of drafting a federal warrant to search the residence too, according to Sara Anderson, a spokesperson for the FBI.
The FBI had no prior knowledge of Carroll, according to spokesman Tim Beam.
There was an outstanding arrest warrant for Carroll stemming from a 2019 drug possession charge to which he was expected to plead guilty. But he didn’t show for court.
Otherwise, Carroll had a history of mostly drug-related criminal cases in Woodford, Jessamine and Fayette counties, but most were dismissed or reduced. He has not served any significant jail or prison time.
The Versailles resident pleaded guilty on a felony drug trafficking charge for opiates in 2015, according to court records.
Carroll’s 2.5-year prison sentence was probated, according to court records.
Since 2009, Carroll twice pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree domestic violence assault with minor injuries suffered by the victim, according to court records.
In the second case, Carroll was sentenced to one year in prison but was granted a conditional release after the victim stated she didn’t want Carroll to serve any prison time, according to court records. Carroll later violated a domestic violence order and was ordered to serve his prison time. But he was granted work release.
Attention to Carroll’s Versailles neighborhood intensified Thursday after police about 3 p.m. reopened South Limestone and UK’s ER, the only Level 1 trauma center serving Central and Eastern Kentucky, resumed accepting incoming ambulances.
Ambulances were diverted and South Limestone traffic was shut down at about 11 a.m. when UK sent an alert warning people to avoid the area. While the investigation continued at the hospital, the rest of the campus was allowed to resume usual activities. Monroe released details of what happened during a 2:30 p.m. briefing.
Carroll’s arrest follows recent mass shootings in Colorado and Atlanta that have been the subject of national media attention, but Monroe said recent events didn’t necessarily have officers on higher alert.
“I think as part of our training every day, we’re always preparing for some type of disaster to happen,” he said.
Monroe didn’t speculate on what could have happened if police hadn’t apprehended Carroll.
“I think we took an individual that could be deemed as armed and dangerous into custody very quickly, efficiently, without doing harm to anyone, including himself.”
Herald-Leader reporter Beth Musgrave contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Police arrest man with weapons, body armor at University of Kentucky Hospital."
