Individual in custody after firing shots from his vehicle
Mar 24, 2023, 7:30 PM
West Valley Police received a call from family members of a suicidal individual leaving their home, the individual was safely taken into custody. Photo credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
WEST VALLEY, Utah — Around 1:20 p.m. Friday, the West Valley Police Department received a call from family members of a suicidal individual leaving their home with a gun.
Family members found the individual, a male, pulled over in their truck at state Route 111, near 4900 South.
WVC PD Public Information Officer Roxanne Vainuku told KSL NewsRadio that due to a law that passed recently, there was no initial response.
“Based on that law that passed recently, we don’t respond to suicidal subjects if they’re not posing a danger to anyone else,” she said.
Around 2 p.m. the police department began receiving calls that the individual was outside his truck and pointing the gun at himself and waving the gun around.
At this point, officers responded and blocked traffic in both directions.
“They (police) kept watch from a distance, they had a helicopter that would go over and just kind of keep an eye on things,” Vainuku said.
Vainuku then said at some point family members attempted to make contact.
“When they did he fired shots from his vehicle. And then took to a high rate of speed, he headed south,” she explained.
Police has tire spikes set up and successfully stopped the individual. Then, the individual threw his gun out the window and police took him into custody, safely.
The age of the male is unknown.
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