SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 21, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah Highway Patrol lieutenant was hit in the leg by shrapnel during a training exercise at the Unified Police Department firearms range Wednesday afternoon.
The incident occurred at the firearms range is at 5313 East I-80 in Salt Lake City just after 2 p.m.
“We have a lieutenant that was injured by some shrapnel, which is common, doing department shooting exercises,” UHP Lt. Nick Street told Gephardt Daily. “He is fine and is getting taken care of at the U of U.
Street said that at the firearms range, “They were moving down the range for their qualification, stopping from different points to shoot from different distances, and all of sudden he said something felt off and when he looked down at his leg and noticed that something had gone into his leg.
“The targets hit up against the side of the mountain and there are dirt berms there. Something either hit a target carrier or something and sent that shrapnel back into his leg.”
A berm is an embankment used between shooting ranges to divide them, or positioned to restrict bullets to a specific area.
“Nobody did anything unsafe, nobody had an accidental discharge, just shooting and a piece of shrapnel from downrange went back and caught our lieutenant in the leg,” he said. “This happens occasionally.”
