St. George man charged with nine counts of attempted murder after armed standoff with police

SALT LAKE CITY — A man who allegedly fired over 150 rounds of ammunition in his St. George home during a police standoff is facing 51 criminal charges.

On Monday, the Washington County Attorney’s Office announced that Benjamin Lewis Hansen, 41, was charged with:

• Nine first-degree felony counts of attempted murder,
• One count of attempted aggravated arson, second-degree felony,
• Nine second-degree felony counts of assault on a peace officer with a dangerous weapon,
• Twenty-two third-degree felony counts of felony discharge of a firearm,
• Two second-degree felony counts of property damage resulting in the loss greater than $5,000,
• Six third-degree felony counts of prohibited dangerous weapon conduct while being a category II restricted person,
• and a third-degree felony count of property damage resulting in the loss between $1,500 $4,999.

“The charges stem from allegations that the defendant fired approximately 150 rounds of ammunition from inside his home, targeting law enforcement officers and endangering nearby residents,” the attorney’s office wrote in a press release.

Arresting Hansen

According to authorities, on July 9, an officer with the St. George Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance call involving Hansen.

“While there, the officer took several intermittent volleys of gunfire from Defendant, who was firing from an elevated position in his house,” charging documents stated.

According to police, the officer was pinned down behind a power pole while being shot by Hansen. The bullets fired by Hansen impacted the pole, the cement base of the pole and the wall near the officer.

“Five officers in an armored vehicle were able to finally extract the officer from his position, to keep him from being shot,” charging documents stated.

While retrieving the officer, Hansen allegedly shot at the armored vehicle from “several positions on the upper floor of the house,” according to the charging documents.

“He shot so many rounds at our armored vehicle that it cracked the bullet-resistant windshield,” said public information officer Courtney Brinkerhoff. “I think our officers were incredibly, incredibly lucky that day.”

Police reported that Hansen also struck two other police vehicles, another house and several other block walls in the neighborhood while shooting his firearm.

“When the officers utilized the armored vehicle to pull off the garage door, defendant came to the garage,” charging documents stated. “He fired through the garage door and at the windshield of
the vehicle when the door came down, impacting the windshield and cracking it.”

According to a police affidavit, Hansen came out of the house after it was engulfed in flames and he was suffering from smoke inhalation. Officers had to use a Taser on Hasen because he refused to cooperate with police.

“After the defendant was taken into custody, he admitted to trying to start a fire and/or explosion in the house with fireworks, shooting propane tanks and attempting to cut a gas line,” charging documents stated.

Hasen also admitted to police that he fired five different firearms and a bow during his encounter with police.

According to the police affidavit, a victim said that Hansen had issues with drinking alcohol and was relapsing after being sober for six years.

“He claims that he was trying to commit suicide by cop,” Brinkerhoff said, “and, frankly, our officers showed great restraint when they were finally able to take him into custody, and I’m just really proud of the way they handled it. 

Court documents showed that Hasen had previously been found guilty of multiple charges stemming from a domestic violence case in 2024 involving the same victim.

“I’m so grateful that he didn’t harm anyone in the neighborhood,” Brinkerhoff said. “We know of at least one other house, but his rounds impacted and damaged their house, so easily could have been a life.”

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