TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, Jan. 4, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have identified the man who died from an apparent suicide following a nearly five-hour standoff with law enforcement at a Taylorsville wedding reception center Wednesday afternoon.
The West Jordan Fire Department responded to a wedding reception center near 6300 S. Redwood Road, where a man was reported to be having a stroke.
Firefighters called for police assistance about 12:30 p.m. when they found Kenneth Taylor, 63, armed and pointing a gun at them, Taylorsville police said in a news release Thursday.
Police evacuated the building, and a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team attempted to contact Taylor, who had barricaded himself inside the center, police said. Attempts to reach Taylor by phone and the center’s PA system were unsuccessful, according to police.
After obtaining a search warrant about 4:30 p.m., a SWAT team broke a window and used a drone to locate Taylor, who appeared to be injured and had a handgun near his feet, police said.
The SWAT team and paramedics entered the building and found Taylor dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Several handguns were collected from the area, police said.
The state medical examiner’s office is working to determine the cause of death.
