A man dangled from a 150-foot (45-meter) construction crane before falling to his death early Tuesday at a college campus in Texas, ending a more than 14-hour standoff, police said. The man spent a sweltering afternoon on the crane at the Southern Methodist University campus, fully exposed to the sun. He warned officers that he was armed and would shoot anyone who approached him, AP reported. Two officers who climbed the crane discovered he had sprayed a greasy substance in the area near the crane's cab, preventing them from reaching him, said Deputy Chief Randy Blankenbaker. The man pulled himself out of the cab and briefly dangled from the crane - holding on with just his hands - before dropping to his death early Tuesday. "The suspect is deceased," Sr. Cpl. Melinda Gutierrez said. Police did not say if a weapon had been recovered. Police later identified him as Lee Dell Thomas Jr., 44, and said that he may have been involved in a robbery Monday in which a vehicle was stolen. Kent Best, an SMU spokesman, said the man was a suspect fleeing from Dallas police. The university campus was closed for Memorial Day but reopened Tuesday. The crane is being used for campus housing projects.
