UPDATE: Salt Lake Police Officer Shoots, Kills Wanted Fugitive During Home Invasion

Robert Richard Berger
Photo Courtesy: Salt Lake County Jail

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – September 23, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – A wanted fugitive who entered two houses in downtown Salt Lake City, stabbing one of the occupants, has been fatally shot by a police officer responding to the scene.

The man was identified this morning as 48-year-old Robert Richard Berger.

Salt Lake City Police Department spokesman Detective Richard Chipping said Berger climbed through a window at 838 S. Roberta St. around midnight. He tried to enter the room of a two-year-old child but the parents were able to get him out of their house.

Berger then went to 850 S. Roberta St., again gaining entry through a window. A police officer had arrived on scene and was speaking to residents when he was alerted Berger had gained entry to another house and was stabbing a woman inside.

The officer went to the address and eventually shot Berger, killing him. The woman victim was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.

Unified Police Department has now taken over the investigation, and the officer has been placed on administrative leave, as is protocol in these cases.

The victim has not yet been identified and it is not known at this time how many times the victim was stabbed or with what, or how many times the suspect was shot.

According to Brooke Adams, spokesperson for the Utah Department of Corrections, Berger had just been released from prison on September 15 after violating his parole. Berger had been released to the Fortitude Treatment Center facility in order to stabilize as he transitioned into the community. He was last seen at the center on Sunday when he was checked out for a medical appointment and didn’t to return. After failing to return Sunday night a warrant for his arrest was issued.

“Berger had a criminal history dating back to 1986 and was currently considered a fugitive with an active warrant at the time of the shooting,” said Adams. “He was incarcerated in the Utah State Prison from September 27, 2000 to June 17, 2014 when he was released from prison on parole.”

Adams said he had returned to prison several times after his original release in June 2014 for various parole violations.

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