Salt Lake City police say a man threw a rock at officers Wednesday morning, and at least one officer shot the man, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Deputy Chief Brandon Christiansen told reporters Wednesday that the shooting death, near the ExtraMile Chevron gas station at 278 W. 2100 South, will be investigated by West Jordan police, following protocol when one department’s officers have used deadly force.
Police received “an incredibly urgent and short” call just after 9 a.m. of an alleged assault in progress, Salt Lake police spokesperson Glen Mills said. One man on the scene confronted officers as they approached.
“He had a rock in his hand. He threw it and hit one of our officers,” Mills said. “That’s when at least one shot was fired, striking the individual.”
An officer was hit by a rock and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Mills said.
The man who was shot was transported to a hospital, and died either at the hospital or on the way, Christiansen said. Police have not, as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, identified the man who was killed.
A wide area around the gas station had been cordoned off with yellow police tape to preserve the crime scene for the West Jordan investigative team. The restricted scene stretched across 300 West and into a portion of an adjacent McDonald’s parking lot.
Christiansen said he did not know whether officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, were in the area at the time. ICE officers have been reported to be a frequent presence in that area — primarily at the Home Depot parking lot across 300 West, where day laborers often congregate to pick up work.
Traffic was blocked in both directions along 300 West for several hours.
The state Department of Public Safety and the local ICE office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.