SALT LAKE CITY — Officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Liberty Patrol Division arrested a 58-year-old man accused of pointing a BB-gun that closely resembled an actual firearm at five people inside Liberty Park.
This investigation started Thursday at 2:13 p.m., when SLCPD officers received word of a person with a weapon in Liberty Park, near 600 East 1300 South.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, Rafael Manzanilla Perez is accused of approaching several people inside the park and punching a man for no apparent reason. Witnesses told officers Manzanilla Perez then pulled out a firearm, pointing it toward five people,” according to a press release by the SLCPD PR Unit.
Community members in the park tackled Manzanilla Perez “and successfully separated him from the firearm and a knife he allegedly had,” the press release said.
Officers arrived on scene as people started leaving the area, including Manzanilla Perez, and took him into custody.
During their investigation, officers determined the firearm was a BB-gun that closely resembled an actual firearm.
“As of this writing, Manzanilla Perez remains in the Salt Lake County Jail on a no bail hold. He is currently charged with five counts of aggravated assault and one count of providing false information to a police officer.”
