Article last updated at 3:47 p.m.:
Two Lawrence men were arrested Friday afternoon following a vehicle and foot pursuit near the University of Kansas campus, according to law enforcement.
A KU campus alert had directed people to avoid the area of Memorial Stadium, near 11th and Mississippi streets, as police were seeking an armed suspect. Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a BB gun from a backpack that one suspect discarded while fleeing on foot, but they did not find any other weapons, according to a news release Friday.
No one was injured in connection with the incident, said George Diepenbrock, a spokesperson for DGSO.
A deputy was attempting to investigate a vehicle just after 1 p.m. Friday when the driver left the area and did not signal a turn, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The deputy initiated a traffic stop, and the driver fled into the neighborhood near KU’s campus, the release said.
“The deputy was able to observe the vehicle drive through heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area, and the suspect drove in a dangerous manner,” the release said.
Two suspects eventually abandoned the car in the 1300 block of West Campus Road and fled on foot, according to the release. One was taken into custody near a residence on West Campus Road; the driver was taken into custody after a foot pursuit that ended near the stadium.
“Initially, deputies and officers were trying to determine if a third suspect was associated with the car, and officers searched the stadium out of precaution. But they later determined only two suspects were associated with the suspect’s vehicle,” according to the release.
KUPD and Lawrence police officers assisted in the pursuit, according to DGSO.
KU sent out the campus alert saying that police were seeking an armed suspect near the stadium and to avoid the area until further notice at 1:20 p.m. Friday. At 1:55 p.m., KU’s alert website was updated, stating that campus was operating normally.
The two 29-year-old Lawrence men were booked into the Douglas County jail for failure to appear in court, and one of them for an alleged probation violation, the booking log showed.
All arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless and until they are convicted.
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