SOUTH SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 10, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Two sheriff deputies have been wounded and a suspect is dead after an officer-involved shooting outside the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office complex Saturday morning, which includes the Salt Lake County Jail.
According to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, the incident took place near 900 W. 3300 South at 10:29 a.m. during an altercation near a bus stop on the north side of the facility’s parking lot.
Rivera said one of the deputies was shot in the eye and taken to the hospital in critical condition. The second deputy was shot in the face and reported in stable condition. He is expected to be released later in the day.
The deputies were part of a security detail that patrols the grounds of the facility, which is not only home to the sheriff’s office and the county jail, but also headquarters for the Unified Police Department.
Rivera said deputies had just approached the suspect when the gunfire ensued. She said the suspect shot the deputies with a weapon he was carrying.
The suspect, whose identity in not yet known, died at the scene of the shooting. Rivera said there were indications he may have been a transient.
“I can tell you this type of incidents are really devastating for the department, and we hope and we pray that our deputies will be OK,” Rivera said. “The environment for law enforcement right now is extremely dangerous, and we know that.
“We currently have our jail on lockdown. It will be locked down for a significant amount of time until we feel like it’s secure. We don’t have any indication that the jail is in any danger at all, but that’s our standard protocol,” Rivera said.
Crime scene investigators are on scene, including a team specializing in officer-involved critical-incidents.
Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
