Suspected OU Gunman Arrested In Broken Arrow

NewsOn6.com, News9 and The Associated Press

BROKEN ARROW, OK -- Police in Broken Arrow have arrested a man suspected of pulling a gun and attempting to kidnap a faculty member at the OU campus in Norman.

Michael Joseph Childers, 27, was arrested on a warrant about 8:15 p.m. Friday at his home in Broken Arrow, according to a news release. He was taken into custody without incident.

He was booked into the Tulsa County Jail early Saturday and is being held without bond for Cleveland County authorities, jail records show.

About 3 p.m. Friday, campus police were notified of a gunman inside Kaufman Hall, which houses the Classics and Letters and Sociology departments.

OU President David Boren said the gun wasn't discharged and the man left Kaufman Hall a short time after pulling the gun.

Boren sent out an emergency communications message to students, faculty and staff about the incident, which he said was considered a domestic dispute between two individuals and not a threat to others.

Boren says witnesses identified Childers as the person who pointed the gun. The man left campus northwest toward Elm Avenue, and police believed Childers was heading to his home in Broken Arrow.

News of the incident flooded across campus and places like Facebook, where Childers updated his status with "Relax, folks. This is post-VT paranoia at its worst. I am a peace-loving goblin."

Court documents show Childers pleaded no contest to hacking into an e-mail account last year.