Shots target police; PB man arrested

Police said a SWAT team successfully disarmed a man who opened fire in Pine Bluff multiple times early Saturday morning.

According to a news release from the Pine Bluff Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of 18th Street and Cypress Drive, a few blocks east of Southeast Arkansas College, after reports of a person with a gun about 4 a.m.

After police arrived, a man, later identified as 49-year-old Robert Jones of Pine Bluff, approached an officer and fired multiple times before fleeing to the unoccupied side of a duplex at 1721 W. Circle Drive, authorities said.

Police evacuated the other side of the building and the surrounding area.

Attempts at negotiating with Jones were met with shouts and expletives, according to the news release.

As a special weapons and tactics team prepared to use tear gas, Jones knocked out a window and fired at least one shot, police said.

The man surrendered after the residence was gassed, according to the release.

He was charged with aggravated assault and taken to the Jefferson County jail.

Police said the only shots fired were those fired by the suspect.

No one was reported to have been injured in the incident.