The strange display of firepower was enough to draw a scene, with bystanders taking photos and making concerned comments to one another. Images of the man published to Facebook caused a stir in the community and got the attention of ABC 4 in Salt Lake City.
The woman who took the photo that got the most attention said it happened on Wednesday, just four hours after President Barack Obama announced a series of executive orders relating to firearms.
Utah state law, however, says the man's actions are legal, provided the weapons were unloaded. The man was not positively identified, and JCPenney's public relations team did not respond to a request for comment.
The assault rifle he was carrying was an AR-15, the same firearms platform used to kill 27 people in Newtown, Connecticut in December. In the wake of that massacre, U.S. officials have called for banning those type of weapons from the civilian sphere, although taking such action would require congressional authorization.
This video is from ABC 4 in Salt Lake City, aired Thursday, January 17, 2013.
The above video seems to be about the Sundance film festival at first, however it you let it play through, the next video in queue appears to be the correct one.