A man who was shot multiple times by police last month after he opened fire at officers, body camera footage shows, has been released from the hospital and booked into jail.
Malui Salesi Vehikite, 29, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on Saturday, jail records show. Vehikite has not been formally charged but is being held on suspicion of multiple felonies stemming from the November shooting.
A South Jordan police officer suffered a severed femoral artery and a shattered femur during the Nov. 26 shootout. According to a probable cause statement, the officer’s injuries were “potentially fatal.”
According to the statement, police were following up on a stolen vehicle case near Bingham High last month when they were allowed to enter a home to search for a suspect. They found the suspect, later identified as Vehikite, in a basement bedroom and saw him holding a gun, court records state.
A sergeant heard gunshots and saw a police officer fall to the floor with an injury to the leg, records state. The sergeant said he then heard several more shots and found Vehikite, who had been wounded and was taken to a hospital.
Pending formal charges, Vehikite is being held on suspicion of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, discharge of a firearm, and theft by receiving stolen property.
The Nov. 26 shooting marked the 27th police shooting this year in Utah.
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