Alabama man accused of stripping, jumping naked into Bass Pro Shop aquarium: Reports

Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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A man was arrested in Alabama after he allegedly took off his clothes and jumped naked into a large aquarium at a shop in Leeds, AL.com reported.

Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin told AL.com that the incident occurred shortly before the shop's closing time on Thursday when a 42-year-old man, reported to be behaving erratically, crashed his vehicle into a pole in the store's parking lot, got out of the vehicle, took off his clothes and ran into the Bass Pro Shop, where he jumped into the aquarium.

Bystanders present at the scene recorded video footage of the man cannonball into the aquarium and later stand under the waterfall, according to AL.com.

As two police officers of the Leeds Police Department went up the stairs towards the man, he reportedly yelled at them and jumped back into the water. The suspect continued to shout at the officers before climbing over the side of the aquarium, where he fell and knocked out, reported AL.com. However, he woke up as officers were handcuffing him and began to try to struggle.

Someone covered him with a blanket as officers took him from the store.

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Man was taken to hospital for mental health assessment

Irwin told the local media outlet that the man was taken to a hospital for mental health evaluation before being booked into the St. Clair County Jail.

The police chief separately told news outlet WBRC that the suspect's family said that he is suffering from mental health issues, adding that the man damaged the back door of the police car while being transported.

AL.com reported that the man has been charged with public lewdness, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, two counts of first-degree criminal mischief and two counts of reckless endangerment.

The Leeds police department and Bass Pro Shops did not immediately return USA TODAY's request for more information.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man arrested after he strips naked, jumps into shop aquarium: Reports