A Utah man has been arrested on Thursday after he allegedly tried to run over several children with his truck in an community park parking lot.
According to a report detailing the arrest of David Earl Holden, a witness observed Holden driving recklessly by going over curbs and onto the grass in the direction of the children. The witness also mentioned that Holden brandished a knife at the children before trying to hit them with his vehicle.
Law enforcement officials received a call from a man who reported that Holden had threatened him with a knife at a nearby McDonald’s in Price, Utah. Upon the officer’s arrival at the scene, Holden was seen walking away from the restaurant with a cut on his cheek.
Simultaneously, a witness contacted the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office via 911, recounting an incident where a man attempted to strike children in the parking lot of the Basso Dino-Mine Adventure Park. The witness described how the driver aimed his truck towards the children, causing them to escape and dodge the vehicle, then proceeded to exit his truck and hurl rocks at them. In retaliation, one of the children threw a rock back at Holden, striking him in the cheek and drawing blood.
The witness said he tried to leave the area in his own vehicle, but Holden followed him closely into a neighborhood.
Police obtained surveillance video from the parking lot. A police report said that Holden’s “driving patterns were consistent with what was described” by the witness and demonstrated “a depraved indifference to human life, clearly engaing in behavior that created a grave risk of death to several children had they been run over.”
When he was taken into custody, Holden told an offices that if he was released he would get a firearm and “become the next mass shooter” and then threatened to kill the officer.
Holden was charged with three counts of attempted murder, threat of violence, reckless driving, and threat or use of a dangerous weapon n a fight, KSL reported.
