MAUMELLE — Police have arrested a 16-year-old who escaped from a Maumelle behavioral hospital Tuesday morning and are now working to determine how he obtained a handgun in his brief time on the run.
Maumelle Police Department Lt. Jim Hansard said police arrested Brandon Metcalf after a standoff in the backyard of a house on Vantage Drive.
Police went to the neighborhood after receiving multiple reports that Metcalf might be there. Hansard said the teen ran from officers, jumped a fence and then barricaded himself in a backyard, but then gave up about 10 minutes later.
"It was a brief standoff and it ended very well," Hansard said. "He surrendered himself, he had the handgun with him and dropped that. There were no problems at all, it turned out great. We really appreciate folks being on the lookout for us and thankful no one was injured."
Metcalf was arrested around 10 a.m. and transported to the police station for questioning, which was ongoing at 10:30 a.m.
Hansard said it was unclear where Metcalf got the weapon, though that will be a focus of the continuing investigation.
"It's a mystery," Hansard said. "We want to get to the bottom of that first and foremost. The last thing we need is a bunch of handguns running around town in this city or any other city."
Metcalf escaped from the Methodist Behavioral Hospital at 1601 Murphy Drive shortly after midnight and returned about three hours later with a handgun. Police believe he was trying to get another youth out of the hospital, but he left - and evaded capture for another 7 hours - after staff told him police were on the way.
Authorities had been searching for him in the area for hours using K-9s and a helicopter.
Hansard said Metcalf will likely face charges of aggravated assault and commercial burglary for breaking back into the hospital while brandishing the gun.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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