Man with slingshot led to reports of shooting, police say


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CEDAR HILLS, Utah County — A man on painkillers and carrying a slingshot may have been responsible for a shooting scare in Cedar Hills on Friday, police said.

The incident began just before 7 a.m. Friday when Luke Blain woke up to what sounded like his house was being fired upon. "It was really clanking loud ... and was piercing to the ear," he said.

The loud banging continued as he went outside near 10000 North Sage Road to see what was happening. He found a man hiding in some nearby bushes outside, yelling for help.

"This guy said, 'There is somebody shooting at me. Get back in the house,'" Blain said.

Blain called police and they discovered that the man was in the middle of a psychotic episode, said Cedar Hills Mayor Gary Gygi, adding that the man had knee surgery last week and may have taken too much medication.

"He was seeing things and hearing things that weren't actually happening," Gygi said.

The man, reportedly a war veteran, had allegedly flung small rocks with his slingshot, putting holes in the homeowner's siding and shutters. There was no shooting, the mayor said.

The man was taken to American Fork Hospital for a mental evaluation and will not likely face charges, American Fork police said.

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