Jessica Miller was finishing a sociology paper Friday afternoon when a shotgun blast tore through her apartment wall a few yards away.

She and a maintenance man fixing a door at her unit hit the floor. They ran for the bathroom, and a second shot shattered a window.

"My heart just stopped. I didn't make a sound," the 21-year-old University of Utah student said. "I was so scared."

The shooter was a neighbor, George D. Huntzinger, 64, who was firing indiscriminately with a shotgun from his third-floor balcony in the Cottonwood Apartments, in the 1000 East block of 4700 South in Millcreek.

Huntzinger was shot and killed by a SWAT officer after negotiations with authorities failed and he continued

shooting. He fired at least eight rounds, said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder. No one else was hurt.

Huntzinger's motives weren't clear, but he was going through a divorce, said Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. He had lived in the apartment about a month.

A SWAT team responded to reports of shots fired about 3 p.m, Winder said.

Another maintenance man heard a gunshot and looked up to see a man standing on a third-story balcony waving a gun around. The maintenance man called 911 and heard more shots as he ducked out of the way, Winder said.

SWAT team members who arrived at the scene were able to transfer a phone to the gunman, who told officers he had hostages in his apartment and that he

wanted to kill people, Winder said.

"It was very evident this individual, for whatever reason, was committed to doing harm," Winder said. "He was highly motivated to create some terror."

Heather Artenian went outside her apartment to smoke a cigarette when she saw a group of SWAT officers crouched behind a green Ford sedan as blasts from Huntzinger's shotgun blew holes in the asphalt.

Meanwhile, Huntzinger paced on his balcony, shouting at officers and challenging them to shoot him as he pumped his shotgun, said neighbor Dominique Apgood.

Huntzinger, who had a large amount of ammunition, continued firing as a negotiator tried to speak with him, Winder said.

When he confronted officers with his shotgun, a SWAT officer shot him to death, Winder said. Huntzinger was pronounced dead at the scene. The standoff lasted 42 minutes.

Deputies discovered the man had no hostages. Two sheriff's deputies who fired shots have been placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy. It was not immediately clear which deputy fired the fatal shots or how many times Huntzinger was hit.

The deputy's shots smashed out the sliding glass window at the apartment, and a trail of blood led to lower balconies.

The incident unnerved neighbors who live near the man's apartment.

Chris Rios pulled up under his building when the maintenance man warned him there was a man with a gun. Rios didn't believe him at first.

"He told me he was loading a gun," he said. He scrambled back into his car and drove away, hearing shots as he did.

Tom Fullmer said his wife, Barbara, was in their apartment and Huntzinger pointed a gun at her.

"It's difficult to have your loved ones in there and you can't do anything to help them," he said as he waited for police to allow residents back into the complex. "I'm worried, scared for my wife, emotional, shook up, upset."

Terry Smith said he was falling asleep on the couch and heard one shot, then two or three more.

"I heard some pops and thought that someone had gotten fireworks," he said.

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com