Former Penn State lineman arrested in fire-extinguisher rampage

SEVEN PEOPLE were hospitalized Tuesday after police say a Drexel Hill man went on a bizarre rampage spraying a fire extinguisher in Atlantic City's Public Safety Building.

Tom McHugh, 29 - a former Penn State lineman who was kicked off the team in 2003 for public drunkness - had just been let out of jail at the building on disorderly-conduct charges related to one of two tangles with police Monday, police said.

About 8 a.m. Tuesday, McHugh somehow got up to the fourth floor, where top Atlantic City Police administrators have offices. When he was confronted by officers, he grabbed the device from the wall and sprayed three of them in the face before he was wrestled to the ground, police said.

The building was evacuated for several hours.

Investigators said McHugh was arrested twice Monday for disorderly conduct, according to new reports. The first arrest occurred about 6:15 p.m. after he allegedly was scaring and chasing children on North Carolina Avenue. After being released about 9 p.m., he was arrested again a few hours later for allegedly stealing items from a convenience story, CBS 3 reported.

McHugh faces charges of aggravated assault on police, resisting arrest, possession of a destructive device (the extinguisher) and related offenses.