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One of two suspects suffered at least one gunshot wound as police moved in at the end of a wild high-speed chase on Interstate 80 on Tuesday morning.
Officers responded to a shooting about 5:30 a.m. near the Road Home shelter, 210 S. Rio Grande St., where a man was found with a gunshot wound "to his lower extremity," Salt Lake City police Detective Greg Wilking said. That man was reported to be in fair condition at the hospital.
The motive for that shooting was not released, but gang- and drug-related violence is a frequent occurrence in that area of downtown Salt Lake City, where hundreds of homeless people gather.
At about 5:50 a.m., police spotted the suspect vehicle and a pursuit winded through the city. Speeds topped 100 mph when the car, containing two people, fled west on Interstate 80.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers joined the pursuit, and police tried to spike the vehicle's tires — SLCPD would not say whether that effort was successful. The car crashed into a tree at a Lake Point residence in Tooele County about 6:15 a.m.
SLCPD officers exchanged gunfire with people at the scene. Wilking said one of the two suspects was wounded, but it was not immediately determined whether he was shot by officers or had shot himself. No officers were injured.
"As we saw this morning, we sometimes have to use deadly force in the interest of public safety, and in the interest of our officers," Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said in an afternoon news conference. "I do not know exactly what happened, but I trust that our officers had the training, judgment and ability to react in situations just like the one they encountered this morning."
Two officers were on paid administrative leave after the incident, Brown said, though he said he wasn't sure exactly how many were involved in the shootout or how many were at the scene.
The shot suspect was flown by medical helicopter to a Salt Lake City hospital in "extremely critical" condition, Wilking said. He was alive Tuesday afternoon, Brown said, though the chief gave no other details on the man's condition. The second suspect was not injured and was arrested at the scene. Officials have declined to release their names.
The Tooele County Sheriff's Office and West Valley City Police Department will conduct an investigation of the incident, Brown said. He said he did not yet have answers to most questions about the details of the incident, but more information would be available "within the week."
"There are several scenes and a lot of evidence to look through," the chief said.