Tremonton • Northern Utah law enforcement leaders said more people would have died in Sunday night’s shooting in Tremonton if not for the actions of two city police officers who were killed and a sheriff’s deputy who was wounded.
Officials from multiple police agencies provided an update Tuesday on a shooting that killed Tremonton-Garland Police Department Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada, and injured Box Elder County sheriff’s deputy Mike Allred and his K-9 service dog, Azula.
[Read more: Here’s what we know about the two police officers who were shot and killed in Tremonton.]
After someone dialed 911 several times and hung up Sunday night, one of the Tremonton officers responded to the neighborhood and began taking fire as he was speaking with someone at the home, police have said. The other Tremonton officer, who responded to help the first, also was gunned down.
Authorities have not said whether Estrada or Sorensen responded first.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People prepare blue ribbons in Tremonton on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, to honor two city police officers who were killed and a sheriff's deputy who was wounded two days earlier in a shooting.
Allred responded soon after and reported the officers down, according to Box Elder Chief Deputy Sheriff Cade Palmer. The suspected shooter also fired at and injured Allred and his K-9. The deputy took cover, Palmer said, and continued to communicate with law enforcement responding to the scene, redirecting them from the line of fire.
“I believe he saved some lives that night,” Palmer told reporters at the Tuesday news conference.
The encounter ultimately ended Sunday night after bystanders talked down the suspected shooter, according to police reports, and the man put down his weapon.
Police then took the man into custody. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name people who are arrested until they have been charged.
Law enforcement officials declined to provide further details of the shooting Tuesday, but noted Weber County was investigating.
Allred and Azula received surgery Sunday and are recovering at home, Box Elder Sheriff Kevin Potter said.
“We were an inch away from having a third dead officer,” Potter said.
A vigil was held Tuesday night in Tremonton to remember Sorensen and Estrada.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A vigil is held in Tremonton on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, to honor two city police officers who were killed and a sheriff’s deputy who was wounded two days earlier in a shooting.
The officers will be honored at the Box Elder County Fair on Wednesday by two riderless horses in the sheriff’s posse, led by two of Sorensen’s children.
“We are living every cop’s worst nightmare,” said Tremonton-Garland Police Chief Dusty Cordova.
He called the scene of the shooting “chaos.” Officers did not know how many shooters they were confronting. They received backup from multiple agencies, including Ogden’s SWAT team.
“Unequivocally, Eric and Lee are heroes,” Cordova said, with visible tears. “More people would have died that night if they had not intervened.”
Tremonton Mayor Lyle Holmgren and Garland Mayor Linda Bourne also discussed the “unspeakable tragedy” that befell their community Sunday.
“These officers demonstrated the highest level of courage, commitment and selflessness,” Bourne said.