PROVO, Utah — Multiple devices that appeared to be pipe bombs were safely removed from a vehicle parked at the Provo Towne Centre Mall after a suspect was seen holding a gun.
The Provo Police Department responded to the mall at 10:30 a.m. after receiving reports of a man "brandishing what appeared to be a gun," according to a release.
When officers located the man, identified as 41-year-old Eric Whitaker, sitting inside his vehicle in the mall parking lot, they spotted what looked to be improvised explosive devices, prompting the bomb squad to be dispatched to the scene.
Four of the devices that looked to be pipe bombs were removed and disposed of, while an investigation of the man's vehicle also found a handgun and ammunition. It's not known if the devices were officially declared to be pipe bombs.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
Whitaker was taken into custody and has been booked into the Utah County Jail for possession of an incendiary device, which is a second-degree felony.
