ABINGTON, Pa. (AP) - Police say a man who caused alarm while walking around several suburban Philadelphia neighborhoods with an AR-15 rifle slung behind his back has been taken into custody and is undergoing a mental health evaluation.
Abington police say they got several calls Monday about a man walking through various neighborhoods with the assault weapon.
Chief Patrick Molloy told residents in a letter that while the man’s intentions were unknown, they believed he was trying to draw officers into a debate over his Second Amendment right to carry the weapon in public.
On Friday, Molloy says friends of the man reached out to police with concerns he may pose a threat to himself or others. That new information led police to take him into custody on Thursday.
He is undergoing an involuntary mental health exam.
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