Utah man accused of telling 4-year-old to shoot at police after dispute at McDonald's
A Utah man was arrested Monday after allegedly telling a 4-year-old to shoot at police officers. The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake said an officer was able to swipe the gun away as a round was fired, and the officer only sustained a "minor wound" to his arm.
Police said the incident began at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time, when a man received the wrong order at a McDonald's drive-thru in Midvale. He then "brandished a firearm" at employees, police said, and employees asked him to drive to the front of the store while they fixed the order.
Employees then called the police. When officers responded, they issued "several verbal commands" for the man to exit the car, but he refused, police said.
Officers then pulled him from the car and began to take him into custody. But as they were doing so, police said, "an officer turned back toward the vehicle and saw a gun pointing out from the rear window."
The officer was able to swipe the gun to the side as a round was fired, police said. The officer then noticed the child's age and alerted the other officers.
Police said the child was in the back seat with a 3-year-old, adding that "information collected during this ongoing investigation indicates that the father of the child told the child to shoot at the police."
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said it was a "sad day for law enforcement and our community," adding, "This needs to stop and we need to come together as a community to find solutions to the challenges we face in our neighborhoods."