This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Six police officers were hospitalized late Wednesday after shots broke out during a drug strike force operation.

Ogden police Lt. Tony Fox said the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force was serving a search warrant Wednesday on the 3200 block of Jackson Avenue when someone opened fire. Fox said the lone suspect also was in the hospital late Wednesday.

Neighbors said they scrambled for safety when the shots began ringing out.

"We've been on the floor this whole time," one woman said after things had calmed.

Police did not immediately release other details of the shooting or the conditions of the officers.

Around 8:45 p.m., Devin Hadley and his wife were driving to visit his parents, who live near the scene of the shooting.

They said they saw a lot of police cars in the area and decided to follow them to see what was going on.

Hadley said they were about 20 yards from the scene when the first shots were fired.

He said they saw two people lying on the ground who seemed to be hiding. They were not wearing winter clothing, so it appeared to Hadley that the two hadn't planned on being outside.

Two shots rang out and the two people got up and ran from the scene.

Hadley said he continued to hear two- to three-shot bursts of gunfire as police cars sped up the street.

"This whole street was just lined with cop cars," Hadley said.

He said that someone in his LDS Church ward lives near the house where the shooting occurred and told him that the people who lived there never caused any trouble in the past.

He said that he and his wife decided to never again follow a police car out of curiosity.

"It was, like I say, the scariest thing ever," Hadley said. "I had no idea it would be something this big."

Mat Weinberger, who lives about a half block away from the scene of the shooting, was in his house about 8:45 p.m. when he heard three shots. Thinking they were fireworks, he stepped out on his porch to see what was going on.

Meanwhile, his wife grabbed their baby and moved to the back of the house, seeking safety.

From the porch, Weinberger could see several police cars parked at a nearby intersection. He also could hear a voice on the police radio shout that an officer was down. He said the police officers became agitated. The initial three shots were single bursts, Weinberger said. After that, he mostly heard rapid-fire bursts.

By the time the shooting was over, he estimated that between 30 to 40 shots total had been fired. A few minutes after the call of an officer down, Weinberger saw two paramedics run toward the scene of the shooting.

After the shooting ended, two ambulances arrived. Weinberger then heard a request for a life flight over the police radio. Shortly after that, he saw a helicopter leave the area, flying in the direction of McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.

Weinberger said he didn't know the people who lived in the house where the shooting occurred.

"Chaotic end to a quiet night," he said.