DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A robbery suspect climbed to the top of a construction crane on the Southern Methodist University campus and threatened to shoot police Monday.
Dallas Police SWAT officers, SMU Police, and University Park Police all responded to the scene, just outside Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the south side of SMU’s campus.
The crane is at the Residential Commons, a future housing area near the football stadium.
Police locked down the SMU campus and a nearby shopping center as a precaution. The campus was closed for Memorial Day and only essential personnel were working, according to Brad Cheves, SMU’s Vice President for Internal Affairs. Campus police told those employees to leave the area.
Dallas police sources said the man was a suspect in an aggravated robbery which took place overnight at 1300 Commerce St.
Officers pursued the man onto SMU’s campus Monday morning. He climbed the crane trying to get away, officers said.
Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Melinda Gutierrez said the crane has a radio, and officers “were able to get radios from the construction crew to be able to communicate with him on the crane.”
Gutierrez also said the crane does not have power nor air conditioning. The afternoon temperature reached 95 degrees in Dallas.
Sources tell CBS 11 the man has been getting sick inside the crane due to the heat. He was witnessed taking his shirt off and breaking out a window, tossing out his shoes and shirt. The man has also reportedly been throwing up due to the heat.
Although the man threatened to shoot police, SWAT officers haven’t seen a gun and don’t know if he actually has one.
Some reports said the man is the same person suspected of stealing a box truck in downtown Dallas early Monday morning. Gutierrez could not confirm those reports.
As of 5:00 p.m, no one had been hurt.
There is an ambulance standing by near the scene. There is also a helicopter flying nearby with a side door removed to allow for a sharpshooter, if necessary.
