Suspect's rifle discharges during arrest in Provo; No injuries reported

PROVO — A Provo police officer tackled from behind an 18-year-old man carrying a rifle on State Street near Columbia Lane Saturday afternoon after the man ignored officers' instructions to stop.

Connor Beckstrand of Provo was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault on a police officer, illegal consumption of alcohol, carrying a firearm while intoxicate and failure to obey a lawful order and carrying a loaded firearm and assaulting a police officer. He was booked into the Utah County Jail.

Initially, Beckstrand was contacted by a BYU police officer but he ignored the officer and walked away.

 "Because he wasn't stopping, he just wasn't acting normally, I ran at him from behind and tackled him to the ground," said Sgt. Mark Crosby of Provo Police Department said in an interview Sunday.

 "It wasn't normal for a normal person not to stop when police makes contact with them.

While the suspect was on the ground, his rifle discharged as he lifted his hands. A round was fired into the ground near the BYU officer's foot. No one was injured.

Crosby credited Provo residents for taking the initiative to call police and keep them apprised of the movements of the man, which aided in his arrest. "They didn't try to interact and stayed on cell phones and gave us updates," Crosby said.

Contributing: KSL 5

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