Alleged protest shooter caught

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Police in Provo, Utah, said a protester shot a motorist during a Monday night demonstration that was caught on video — and a suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident, Deseret News reported.

The victim was driving a white SUV on University Avenue and tried turning onto Center Street when protesters began "crowding around the vehicle. A male protester ran to the SUV on the passenger side, pointed a handgun at [the] driver, and shot one round through the window," Provo Deputy Police Chief John Geyerman told the outlet.

The 60-year-old driver was struck by a bullet and then "hit the gas trying to leave the situation," Geyerman added to Deseret News.

Cellphone video from witnesses shows the SUV appearing to push through the protesters, the outlet said, with at least one person falling to the ground.

Police said as the SUV sped away, the gunman ran after it and fired a second round that went through the rear passenger window, Deseret News added.

The victim, a Provo resident, remained hospitalized Tuesday but was "stable," police told the outlet, adding that he wasn't part of the protest or counterprotest.

And believe it or not, video shows the gunman then "conceals the firearm and continues to protest. This same protester later approached another vehicle at 500 North and University Avenue, striking and breaking the window with the handgun," Geyerman told Deseret News.

Police on Tuesday night arrested Jesse Taggart of Salt Lake City on a charge of attempted aggravated murder in connection with the shooting, Deseret News said. Taggart, 33, also faces charges of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, rioting, threatening use of a weapon in a fight, criminal mischief, and firing a weapon near a highway, Provo Police Sgt. Nisha King told the outlet.

Samantha Darling, 27, of Ogden, also was arrested and faces charges of obstruction of justice and rioting, Deseret News said, adding that Taggart and Darling were being booked into Utah County Jail.

King told the outlet that citizens provided "evidence and testimony" to investigators regarding the incident.

Police also said Tuesday they were looking for a second gunman believed to have brandished his weapon and pointed it at the driver but did not fire, Deseret News said.

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