At five o’clock Thursday morning, Jan. 4, Eureka Springs Police Department was alerted by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office that the FBI had received an online suicide threat from a Eureka Springs resident. ESPD had received one from the resident in December, according to an ESPD press release.
In the past month, police have performed welfare checks on the resident multiple times and applied for an involuntary commitment order.
At 10:05 the same morning, an unknown male called ESPD making a bomb threat to the Basin Park and Crescent Hotels. The call was from a registered Twilio account, a programmable app known for simplicity and low price.
Law enforcement from Berryville, Green Forest and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist ESPD in evacuation and safety protocols at the hotels. No explosive devices were found.
A few minutes later, the Fayetteville Police Dept. received a call from an unknown phone number making a bomb threat to Fayetteville High School. No bombs or explosive devices were found there.
At 10:22 a.m., the FBI field office contacted FPD saying a male had called saying there were 10 subjects with guns and in masks at Arvest Bank on the Fayetteville Square. Officers found no evidence of an armed robbery, but the caller’s number was the same as the calls in Eureka Springs.
The FPD Crisis Intervention Response Team had frequent calls from the resident over the past week, and GPS pinpointed the number to the Eureka Springs resident.
At 11:15 a.m., ESPD Chief Billy Floyd, Asst. Chief Brian Jones, and Sgt. Paul Sebby went to the resident’s home where he had barricaded himself. The resident talked to officers through a window until agreeing to go outside, where he was taken into custody.