An all-night standoff in Salt Lake City, Utah, ended early on Saturday, November 7, when police entered a house near 900 South and 1900 East and took a barricaded man into custody, the Salt Lake City Police Department said. The man had fired shots from inside the home when officers first arrived on Friday night, according to police, and residents within a half-mile were ordered to shelter in place for the night.
Source: Gephardt Daily
The incident began on Friday evening, November 6, after police received calls about a man making threats at the residence, on the city's east side, in an area near the University of Utah. When officers arrived, shots were fired from inside the home, police said. No account published by Saturday described anyone being struck by the gunfire.
A half-mile shelter-in-place, and traffic diverted
Once the shots were fired, the Salt Lake City Police Department issued a shelter-in-place order for residents within a half-mile radius of 900 South and 1900 East, and traffic was diverted away from the area. The order stayed in force through the night while officers and negotiators worked at the scene, and it was cancelled after the man was taken into custody on Saturday morning.
Glen Mills, the department's chief of staff and communications director, told reporters at the scene during the standoff that officers were trying to negotiate with the man to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion, and that it appeared the man was experiencing a mental health crisis. That assessment was the department's early characterisation of the man inside, offered while negotiations were still under way.
Officers enter the home at about 5:20 a.m.
The standoff ended on Saturday morning when officers entered the residence. Mills confirmed to Gephardt Daily: “The situation has come to an end. Suspect is in custody and facing several charges.” Police have not, in the reports published so far, released the man's name or listed the specific charges he faces.
The man is in police custody and, according to the department, faces several charges that have not yet been publicly listed. Expect the department to release his name and the charges once he is booked, and expect investigators to document the shots fired from the house as part of the case file. The shelter-in-place order has been lifted and the area has reopened.
The standoff was the second major barricade response in Salt Lake City in a single week. On Tuesday, November 3, a separate SWAT response in the city's Rose Park neighbourhood ended with one person dead in a shooting and a second person surrendering after about three hours inside an apartment near 800 North and Redwood Road. Police have not suggested any connection between the two incidents, which happened in different parts of the city.
For readers in the area, the practical facts are these: the Friday-night incident is over, the one person police were negotiating with is in custody, and the shelter-in-place order around 900 South and 1900 East no longer applies. Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Salt Lake City Police Department. The man in custody is presumed innocent of any charge unless and until he is convicted in court.