LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An armed man who was shot by guards after crashing his SUV while apparently trying to break into an Arkansas military base has died, authorities said Wednesday.
Larry D. McElroy, 43, died Tuesday night at a Little Rock hospital, FBI spokeswoman Deb Green said. McElroy had been in critical condition since Monday, when guards shot him after he crashed his SUV outside of the Little Rock Air Force Base and emerged from the vehicle holding a rifle, authorities said.
A woman who answered a number listed for McElroy's wife, Misty Chambers, hung up when called Wednesday and did not immediately respond to a message left seeking comment. A message at another number listed for McElroy was not immediately returned.
McElroy had not been charged, and the FBI said Tuesday he did not have any terrorism links. The agency said it did not know of an apparent motive, though McElroy had a history of paranoia about the base and had experienced drug-induced hallucinations. Green said Wednesday the agency didn't have any more details about the investigation.
The FBI said Tuesday that it didn't find any explosives in his vehicle or his home in Jacksonville, the city that abuts the base.
McElroy briefly enlisted in the Arkansas Army National Guard, a spokesman for the guard said Wednesday. Lt. Col. Joel Lynch said McElroy enlisted in February 1990 and underwent training in medical administration at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, but was honorably discharged in April 1991 after he didn't complete his training.
"I'm not sure why he did not complete that training. I just know he did not," Lynch said.
McElroy tried to re-enlist in 1997, but did not meet the requirements, Lynch said.
In January, McElroy told a deputy he had found three "spy devices" on his home's electronics and chandelier that he believed were placed by "General N.B. Forrest and Colonel Sanders" from the base. The names were possibly references to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
A deputy also went to McElroy's home last year after his father reported that McElroy claimed he'd been held captive by more than 25 people during the day. McElroy was "hallucinating" and pointing out individuals who weren't present, according to a sheriff's report.
His father told the deputy his son had used drugs in the past, and "this was not the first time he had fits of hallucinations," according a report from the sheriff's office.
McElroy had also filed for bankruptcy in 2010, reporting $112,000 in assets and more than $230,000 in liabilities. McElroy at the time said he was unemployed, according to federal court documents.
Associated Press writer Allen Reed contributed to this report.
