HERRIMAN, Utah — Police in Herriman confirmed late Sunday night that a suicidal man with whom they were engaged in an hours-long standoff is now dead.
Residents near the area of 13000 South and 5100 West were asked to "shelter in place" Sunday evening around 6 p.m. as police responded to a tense situation with a veteran who was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis.
The shelter-in-place advisory was lifted shortly before 10 p.m., and Herriman Police later provided an update that officers had shot and killed the man, identified Monday as 38-year-old Alma Worthington.
In an update provided Sunday night, Deputy Chief Cody Stromberg with Herriman City Police said they had tactical units working to evacuate residents from the surrounding homes. Worthington then broke the windows out of his townhouse and shot at these officers.
They returned fire, ultimately shooting and killing Worthington.
At one point, Worthington also called family members and his commanding officers in the National Guard. Stromberg said Worthington was a combat veteran and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Negotiators were in direct communication with Worthington, and they also consulted with his family and with members of his Guard unit as they attempted to end the situation peacefully.
"Tactical units showed an amazing amount of restraint, but at some point, the threat developed to where they felt they needed to take action," Stromberg said.
The Utah National Guard said Worthington was a Staff Sergeant at the time of his death and was previously in the 115th Maintenance Company.
"At this time, we are communicating with Herriman Police Department and standing ready to assist if needed," a statement from the Utah National Guard reads in part. "Our service members and their families are important to us, we are working with the surviving family to make sure they are supported in this most challenging time."
There were no injuries to any officers or nearby residents.
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The situation began around 3:45 p.m. when Worthington called the Herriman Police Department and told them he was contemplating suicide. They negotiated with him for about two hours, but Stromberg said the negotiation efforts eventually "deteriorated."
After about two hours, police said Worthington fired gunshots out of his home and into the neighborhood with a rifle. That's when police took steps to keep the public safe, including sending out an alert to mobile phones around 6 p.m. advising residents nearby to shelter in place, and if possible, to do so in a basement.
Police said Worthington threatened to harm himself and to shoot officers if they went into his home. He had not threatened anyone outside of that, but police said they were taking precautions to keep everyone nearby safe. Police said Worthington continued to randomly fire gunshots inside his home throughout the negotiations.
"[We] try and work through the issues that are presented to us, provide them with resources and options so that they don't feel like they're backed into a corner," Stromberg said of situations like this. "But in this case where we have an individual who is firing rounds into the neighborhood as well, we also have an obligation to protect the safety of the residents in the surrounding area as well as the safety of our officers."
The shootout that resulted in Worthington's death happened around 9:15 p.m.
"So it's certainly not the outcome that we wanted, but we don't have any other injuries at this point other than to the subject," Stromberg added.
The "officer-involved critical incident protocol" has been implemented, and a team of investigators from an outside police agency will conduct the investigation.
Residents outside of Herriman, from Midvale to Lehi, reported that they received alerts on their phones to shelter in place for this incident. Police said this may have been due to cell towers, which cannot always pinpoint the exact locations of users' phones.
Lehi Police assured residents that there was no such situation in their city, and Unified Police told FOX 13 News that alerts sent to non-Herriman residents were referring to the same incident. Herriman Police also issued a clarification that only residents in the "Town Centre" area needed to shelter in place.
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For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org.
