Suspect in custody after car pursuit, shots fired in Taylorsville

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A man was taken into custody after an incident involving a car pursuit and shots being fired on Wednesday night.

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, a driver sped past a trooper on I-15 around 6000 South, reportedly driving 104 miles per hour. The trooper began following after the driver.

“They were able to catch up and try to stop the vehicle,” Major Jeff Nigbur with UHP told ABC4.com. “It very quickly turned into a pursuit, the suspect’s vehicle took the I-215 south belt, headed west, and then dove off Redwood Road.”

The pursuit was terminated after the driver exited the roadway. Authorities pulled the license plate from the suspect vehicle and went to a Taylorsville address where the vehicle was registered. Roughly five or six troopers initially responded to the scene.

“We walked up to try to make contact to see where the driver was, at which point there were shots fired, and we were able to grab an individual from inside the house,” officials said.

Taylorsville Police responded to the address, and a SWAT team was also called. At one point, the suspect reportedly got into the car again and tried to leave the scene.

“He was rammed by a Taylorsville PD officer, and put him kind of off into the front yard of the house,” officials said about the suspect. “The car was disabled, so we were able to take him out at gunpoint and take him into custody.”

Officials said there were several shots fired, including some that were aimed at troopers, but it appears most of the shots were fired inside the home. A family member is accused of firing shots during the incident, and that family member was grabbed by authorities after exiting the house.

No troopers were injured by any shots that were fired, but a Taylorsville officer was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries after ramming the suspect’s vehicle. Officials also said no shots were fired by any law enforcement officers, but involved personnel will be interviewed.

After the incident in Taylorsville, troopers learned that South Salt Lake officials were attempting to locate a vehicle that was reportedly driving around and shooting, but it was unclear if the suspect was shooting into the air or at peopple. Officials with the South Salt Lake Police Department told ABC4.com that the suspect vehicle was wanted for a different report of gunshots.

“It appears that it was the same vehicle,” officials said. “We didn’t know it at the time, that the actual pursuit started and all of this went down.”

One suspect was taken into custody.

“No officers or residents have sustained injuries,” UHP said in a press release. “Currently, there is no threat to the public and no outstanding suspects.”

Matthew Drachman contributed to this report.