A man who allegedly kidnapped a woman and brought her to downtown Ogden on Friday night, where she escaped, was killed in a shootout with police.
About 6:10 p.m. a woman approached an Ogden officer near 2500 Washington Blvd. in downtown Ogden saying she had been kidnapped. She gave police a description of the man, and when the man spotted officers soon after, he allegedly opened fire with a pistol, Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt said at a news conference streamed live on FOX 13.
Watt said officers returned fire, and the man — who was in his late-20s or early 30s — was killed. No officers were injured in the shootout, though a police vehicle was struck several times. Watt called the officers' response “unfortunate" but “very necessary.”
While the shooting took place near Ogden’s Christmas Village holiday display, Watt said there weren’t many bystanders in the area at the time.
The officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated. Watt declined to release any additional information about the kidnapping and the man who was shot until Saturday afternoon.
Ogden police last fatally shot someone on Nov. 9. An officer killed 33-year-old Christopher William Parrish after he allegedly charged officers with a “softball-sized” rock.
Police in Utah have shot 27 people so far this year, killing 17, according to a Tribune database of police shootings that spans 15 years. Fatal police shootings this year outnumber any other in recent memory.
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