Six officers shot in Utah

Michael Mcfall and Scott Schwebke, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah –

OGDEN — Emergency responders rushed Wednesday night to 3268 Jackson Ave., where there was a report of “shots fired” and “officer down.”

Officers from Ogden, Riverdale, North Ogden and Utah Highway Patrol responded to the scene, where six officers — from Ogden and Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force — were injured.

Two of the officers were in critical condition late Wednesday night, and the four remaining officers apparently did not suffer life-threatening injuries, said a source close to the investigation who requested anonymity.

Four of the officers involved were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital, said McKay-Dee spokesman Chris Dallin. The hospital called in several off-duty doctors and nurses as part of its masscasualty protocol, he said. “They (the staff) are doing a great job.” Dallin said he was unable to release information regarding the condition of the officers.

The strike force had been serving warrants earlier in the evening, and around 8 p.m., the call came in that at least one officer had been shot.

Police, in anticipation of more gunfire, blocked off the area from 34th Street and Jackson Avenue to 32nd Street to prevent pedestrian and vehicle traffic from entering. A SWAT team was also on scene.

Police had surrounded a suspect in a shed in a backyard on Jackson Street and had secured the residence around 9:12 p.m.

Around 9:45 p.m., Ogden’s Assistant Police Chief Marcy Korgenski announced in a news conference that the scene was secured and there was no longer a threat to the community.

Korgenski, visibly upset, said six officers and one suspect had been shot and that all injured were transported to local hospitals. She did not release the name of the suspect, nor did she give any information as to the suspect’s condition.

Clayton Payne, who lives nearby on the corner of Meadow Drive, said he heard “three pops” and then rapid gunfire, as though from an AK-47. He had walked outside to see what was going on when an officer with a rifle told him to get back inside, he said. Five minutes later, he walked out onto his driveway.

From there, he said, he could see a backyard of a house on Jackson Avenue where officers were telling someone to get down on the ground.

Mat Weinberger, who also lives in the neighborhood, said he was inside with his baby when he heard three gunshots around 8:45 p.m. He then heard 30 to 40 other shots. Weinberger’s wife took their baby to the back of the house while he went outside to see what was going on. He saw paramedics running south on Jackson Avenue.

Both Payne and Weinberger describe the neighborhood as quiet, where nothing like this happens. Payne said the situation was scary, but also a little exciting.

At 11 p.m., officials were still investigating the scene.