A South Jordan police officer wounded during a shootout late Friday is in stable condition after surgery. The shooting occurred between police and a man who is suspected in a stolen vehicle case.
South Jordan police Lt. Matt Pennington said the shooting happened at about 8 p.m. as officers were following up on the stolen vehicle case at a home on Tarali Court – a residential cul-de-sac near Bingham High School.
After the man’s family allowed officers to enter the home, the man fired several rounds at police in the basement, striking one officer, Pennington said. Police returned fire and struck the man multiple times.
The officer, who was not identified, was shot in the lower leg and hospitalized, Pennington said. The man, who also was not identified, was shot multiple times and hospitalized and is currently in stable but critical condition, according to a news release issued early Saturday morning. The man had open warrants at the time of the shooting, Pennington said.
Further information about those warrants as well as how many rounds were fired was not immediately released. The officers involved will be placed on administrative leave while a multijurisdictional team of police departments in Salt Lake Valley conducts a review of the case, according to the news release.
Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted his support for law enforcement Saturday morning.
“Our hearts are with this brave officer and his family as we pray for his full recovery,” the governor wrote.
The shooting prompted a large police response in the area of the high school, located near South Jordan Parkway and 2200 West. At the time, major roads were shut down in the area.
Pennington said three or four officers responded to the initial call, but after the police shooting, several more responded. A manager at a nearby Walgreens noticed the significant police presence but had not heard any gunshots, the manager told The Salt Lake Tribune.
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