Police take man to hospital following standoff outside LDS Temple in Provo

PROVO — A man who threatened to kill himself outside the LDS Temple here after being disciplined by the LDS Church has been taken to the hospital for a mental-health evaluation.

Provo Police Capt. Cliff Argyle said that at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday officers responded to a suspicious incident on a grassy area south of the LDS temple at 2200 North Temple View Drive to find two men, one of whom appeared to be in distress.

As the officers made contact, they realized the distressed man had a semiautomatic pistol pointed at his chest, Argyle said.

The other man was trying to convince his friend to put the gun down, and officers stepped back to stay a safe distance from the .45 caliber semiautomatic gun, Argyle said.

The officers were able to contact the man on his cell phone and spent the next hour trying to convince him not to take his own life.

Argyle said the combination of the phone call and the supportive friend led the man to put the gun down. Once he did, the friend put him in a bear hug and moved him away from the pistol.

Police placed the 25-year-old man in custody and secured the gun, Argyle said. No one was injured.

The man, who police say was distraught over recent action taken against him by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Wasatch Mental Heath Unit, for a mental-health evaluation.

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