Three schools were put under a "soft lockdown" due to a four-hour standoff between Hot Springs police and a man who barricaded himself in a residence in the 400 block of Woodlawn Avenue Tuesday morning.
Jerome Burns, 52, was taken into custody shortly after noon Tuesday after he "barricaded himself" inside 410 Woodland following an alleged fight with a woman who had left the residence, HSPD Officer 1st Class Omar Cervantes, the department's public information officer, told The Sentinel-Record at the scene.
Burns, who listed the 410 Woodlawn residence as his address, was booked into the Garland County Detention Center shortly before 3 p.m. on felony charges of aggravated assault on a family or household member, possession of a firearm by certain persons and violation of a no-contact order.
"I think there were some threats made prior to us arriving, that's why we obviously needed to make contact with him," Cervantes said, noting the suspect was intoxicated.
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Officers could be heard using their public address system to try to get Burns to exit the residence and surrender. The incident began around 7:45 a.m. with reports of a man, possibly armed with a gun, chasing a woman in the 400 block of Woodlawn. The woman reportedly was able to get away from him by running into a different residence on the block.
Oaklawn STEM Magnet, Park Magnet, and Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet schools were all put under lockdown at 8:15 a.m., according to a statement released by the Hot Springs School District.
"All students and staff at all HSSD campuses remain safe inside schools," the statement said. "A soft lockdown procedure is a routine safety protocol that Law Enforcement Officers utilize when any kind of activity takes place within reasonable proximity of a school that could potentially threaten the safety of students and staff on campus. Our Hot Springs Institutional Law Enforcement Team is working closely with the Hot Springs Police Department; the safety of our students and staff is our top priority."
The lockdown was lifted at 12:20 p.m., the district said in an updated statement, shortly after Burns' arrest.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m., after police were unable to make contact with Burns inside the residence via phone calls, they begin using their public address system, calling for him to come out.
Around 9:20 a.m., the HSPD SWAT team's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, or MRAP, was deployed in front of the residence. Shortly before 10 a.m., the SWAT team deployed a "flash bang" device and then began deploying tear gas in an attempt to get Burns to exit the residence.
Garland County sheriff's deputies deployed a robot just before 11 a.m. to search the residence for Burns before officers with shields were sent in. After searching the residence, Burns was located under the house in a basement area, Cervantes said.
According to court records, Burns was arrested on Nov. 5, 2022, on a misdemeanor count of violating a protection order involving a female victim. He pleaded not guilty to the charge on Dec. 7 and was released on a $3,500 bond on Dec. 22. The case was set to go to trial in Garland County District Court on Thursday. It was not known for certain if the victim in Tuesday's incident was the same victim.
Burns was previously convicted on Oct. 27, 2011, in Washington County on a felony charge of first-degree criminal mischief and sentenced to six years' probation.
Members of the Hot Springs police SWAT team restrain Jerome Burns after removing him from a residence in the 400 block of Woodlawn Avenue Tuesday afternoon following a four-hour standoff. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record