SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department and 5 other Utah law enforcement agencies were involved in a deadly shooting and chase of an arson suspect Thursday night. The pursuit and shooting resulted in the death of the suspect whose name has not been released.
According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, law enforcement located a 27-year-old male suspect that was wanted in connection to a residential arson that occurred in Salt Lake City on New Year's Day. That fire was at 2665 East 2100 South.
Investigators say they learned the suspect in the arson was likely in possession of body armor and firearms.
At around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, law enforcement located the suspect in Orem and his location was shared with law enforcement throughout Utah and Salt Lake counties.
Officers attempted to stop the suspect, who was driving a truck at the time, but the suspect refused to stop. The pursuit then went through Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City. At multiple points during the pursuit, the suspect fired a gun at the pursuing officers.
Even when officers used spike strips to flatten the suspect's truck's tires, the pursuit continued.
At 12:30 a.m. Friday the suspect crashed at 12400 South Redwood Road in Riverton, Utah. The crash rolled the suspect's vehicle landing on its roof and the suspect died on the scene.
Seven Salt Lake City Police Department officers were involved in the incident as well as officers from the Taylorsville Police Department, Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, the Utah County Sheriff's Office, Utah Highway Patrol, and the West Valley City Police Department. The exact number of the officers involved from each agency has yet to be determined.
No injuries were reported to either officers or community members. The involved Salt Lake City officers will be placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure during an officer-involved critical incident.
West Jordan Police will now lead the investigation into the shooting and pursuit.
