An 18-year-old male was hospitalized with a bullet wound to the abdomen Tuesday night after rushing Ogden police officers with a handgun in one hand and a butcher’s knife in the other, police Chief Randy Watt reported.
Police received a call shortly after 7 p.m. from a mental health caseworker that the 18-year-old was threatening to commit suicide at a residence in the 800 block of Fifth Street. While officers were en route to the scene, they were informed the person was armed with a shotgun and fighting with two people in the home.
They arrived within 11 minutes of the initial call.
“In accordance with procedures, they established a perimeter around the house in order to make contact and calm the situation while determining what exactly was occurring,” the chief said at a news conference at police headquarters. “While the perimeter was being set up, two persons came out of the front of the house and made contact with the officers. They were relaying information when the suspect came out of the back of the house.”
Officers ordered him to drop the weapons clenched in both hands as he advanced on one officer who retreated. The suspect ignored the order to stop and one officer fired several shots, striking the man once, Watt said.
The police secured the injured man and began administering aid before he was transported to a hospital, where he is in good condition, according to the chief. The case has been turned over to the Weber County Attorney’s Office, which will review the officers' actions.
“The officer is fine and was placed on leave as is standard in these events. The officer was wearing a body-worn camera and the camera was turned on,” Watt said. “The investigation is continuing and it will likely be several days before any additional information is available.”
The County Attorney’s Office is already investigating the fatal shooting of an armed suspect four days earlier by Weber County sheriff’s deputies in Huntsville.
