Palak JayswalA man was hospitalized on Saturday after allegedly crashing his vehicle, fleeing on foot, exchanging gunfire with Orem police and entering a home.
Police responded to reports of a vehicle crash about 7:30 a.m. near 800 S. Orem Boulevard.
The driver fled the scene on foot and was located by officers near 1000 South and 100 East.
The Orem Police Department reported on social media that the man fired a gun at officers as he approached a home, and “officers engaged the suspect with several shots.”
Lt. Nick Thomas confirmed the suspect did have a gun with him, but details are still under investigation. The suspect then entered the home, which was not his residence, and barricaded himself inside.
Once verbal contact was made with the suspect, negotiations began and the occupants of the home were evacuated without injury. The suspect eventually gave himself up after admitting he was injured.
“The suspect was transported to the hospital with injuries,” the statement says, but no details of the degree of his injuries or of his identity have been shared.
No officers were injured in the incident, though the SWAT team was called.
This marks the sixth police shooting in Utah this year, according to The Salt Lake Tribune’s reporting.
Several streets in the area were blocked off Saturday morning as police investigated the crash and shooting. Thomas said “since there are multiple crime scenes, I don’t know how long the protocol teams will be out there.”
This a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Palak Jayswal is an award-winning journalist who covers culture/music at The Tribune. She graduated from the University of Utah and has lived in Utah her entire life. Her work spans areas of coverage in the cultural world. She loves writing about how culture —and the people who create it— shape life in Utah. She aspires to write for Rolling Stone.