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Granite Police officer shoots teen suspect who hit officer with car in West Valley City

Posted at 1:14 PM, Mar 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-20 23:42:23-04

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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - The Granite School District said a Granite Police officer shot a teen suspect during an incident in West Valley City Tuesday afternoon.

Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said a Granite Police officer on his usual patrol route saw a car full of what appeared to be students near Hunter Ridge Park before the school day had ended.

The officer approached the car and said he smelled marijuana, and that's when Horsley said the car full of teens drove at the officer, who ended up on the hood of the suspects' car.

The officer shot the driver and the car continued down the road for about 100 yards.

The four other teens ran when the car came to a stop.

"They came up to the vehicle in a rush, asked us for a ride," recounted a man, who did not want to be identified but said he gave the teens a ride out of the neighborhood without knowing they were involved in the shooting.

He said he noticed blood on the seatbelt from one of the teens. At one point, he said they were talking about someone being shot in the neck.

"They were really worried about getting caught," he said. "They didn't say much about what happened, they just said they needed to get home ASAP."

Police later caught up with two of the passenger witnesses, and took them in for questioning.

The driver who was shot is in critical condition. The officer went to the hospital and was released in good condition with a head injury and multiple cuts.

Horsely said the four witnesses were described as Hispanic males between 16 to 18 years old.

The Granite School District said the shooting was not on school grounds and did not pose a threat to student safety. They said three of the juvenile teens involved did not attend Hunter High, and two of those three weren't enrolled in school at all.

The man who picked the teens up said from his understanding none of the five teens attend Hunter High.

Salt Lake City Police will take over the investigation.