By Lara Updike
A Provo man was apparently attempting suicide when discovered with explosives in his backyard Wednesday evening Oct. 16, said Captain Leathem of the Provo City Police.
Police officers were called by a neighbor who heard what sounded like two gun shots, Leathem said.
When they arrived on the scene, it seemed the man was trying to harm himself, Leathem said. He said they took him to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.
Leathem said the name of the man will not be released until it is determined whether charges will be filed, possibly for detonation of explosives in the city limits or for illegal storage of explosives.
Police ordered the man''s neighbors to evacuate their south Provo homes around 5:00 p.m. so the Provo and Utah County bomb squads could collect the explosives and take them away for detonation.
The man has a wife and young daughter, Leathem said. The wife came home after her husband was taken into custody and quickly left again.
Neighbors gathered at the busy 300 South 500 East intersection to watch as a member of the bomb squad suited up and entered the house.
One onlooker, Patrick Hagen, 28, is a senior at BYU majoring in computer science. He said he looked out his window at 4:20 p.m. and saw the police take away his neighbor in handcuffs. Shortly afterward they sent in a canine unit to retrieve the man''s dog, Hagen said.