A man is accused of stripping off his clothes and then jumping into the Bass Pro Shops aquarium in Leeds, Alabama, on Thursday.
Officials have the 42-year-old in custody and took him to a hospital to undergo mental health treatment after the incident, AL.com reported Friday. The outlet also noted he was later booked into the St. Clair County Jail.
The man was reportedly exhibiting erratic behavior and drove his car into a pole outside the building. He then exited the car, stripped naked, ran into the store, and dove into the large pond.
The outlet continued:
As two Leeds police officers began to walk up the stairs, the man exited the water, yelled something to the officers and then dove back into the water.
He continued to shout something to officers before he climbed over the side of the aquarium and dropped to the concrete floor below, appearing to have been knocked out by the fall.
The man tried struggling with officers when he awoke and realized he was handcuffed. The swimming incident lasted about five minutes and happened not long before the store closed for the day, according to a police official.
An image shows officers holding onto the man’s wrists as he lay on the floor:
“Jail records show George Owens, of Sterrett, is 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 AL.com article said.
Social media users were quick to comment on the report, one person writing, “And they talk about ‘ Florida Man’ they are now going to have to coin the phrase ‘Alabama Man.'”
One user also posted a video that appeared to show the man clinging to the side of the tank. Click here to view it.
The incident happened after a man was recently accused of stealing a live tarpon fish from the pond inside a Bass Pro Shops in Fort Myers, Florida, Breitbart News reported on December 22.
In 2021, a man jumped into the massive aquarium at the Bass Pro Shops in Sweetwater, Florida, at Dolphin Mall, WPLG reported at the time:
“This incident is illegal, dangerous, and highly discouraged. We work with law enforcement to investigate all individuals who personally attempt or are involved with such activities,” the business’ leadership said in a statement.
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