A Vernal police officer and local resident are both being treated for gunshot wounds at Wasatch Front hospitals after shooting each other late Saturday night.
Vernal Police and the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an intoxicated man threatening a neighbor with a firearm, according to a release posted to Facebook by the Sheriff’s Office. Police allege the man shot at officers and their vehicles when they arrived and a Vernal City Police Officer was shot “multiple times” trying to get out of his car.
Police returned fire, according to the release, and shot the suspect, who then “briefly fled” but was arrested nearby shortly after.
The Vernal officer drove himself to a local hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Department. He and the suspect were both flown to hospitals on the Wasatch Front for further treatment.
A sheriff deputy was also treated for minor injuries and released.
The Utah State Bureau of Investigations is taking over the investigation, according to the release.
