School district officer shoots driver who allegedly tried to run him over

WEST VALLEY CITY – A school district officer looking for truant students shot and wounded a juvenile, who he said tried to run over him, leaving the victim hospitalized in extremely critical condition Tuesday.

Around 12:45 Tuesday afternoon, Granite School District spokesperson Ben Horsley said an officer was patrolling near Hunter High School. Horsley said the officer saw a blue Honda sitting at Hunter Ridge Park along 4383 South 5710 West. Inside, Horsley said the officer saw five people who looked to be between 16 and 18 years old, possibly students skipping school.

Horsley said the officer got out of his car, smelled marijuana, and approached the blue Honda.

“As he approached the vehicle, they attempted to run him over. At one point, he was on the hood of the vehicle. I’m not sure when he was able to fire his weapon, but did manage to get at least one shot off,” Horsley said. “The driver of the vehicle was struck and was transported in “delta minus” condition, which is not good. The officer was also injured and transported in good condition,”

The officer has since been released from the hospital. The driver was transported to a local hospital in extremely critical condition following the shooting. His name and age were not released Tuesday, but Horsley confirmed he is not enrolled in school.

Horsley said the four other people inside the car scattered.

Police described them as four Hispanic males, between 16 and 18 years old.

• One was heavyset wearing a white shirt with blue and white shorts.
• Another was wearing baggy blue jeans.
• A third had a hoodie with some kind of old English lettering on it.
• The fourth was wearing a blue shirt.

“We need to locate these suspects, so with the help of West Valley Police and other allied agencies, we obviously have an APB out on these individuals,” Horsley said. “Anybody who’s underage, who fits that description, and should be in school, but isn’t, is probably a likely suspect.”

Horsley said there was not a danger to the nearby school or the surrounding neighborhood.

As part of the Granite School District’s protocol when an officer is involved in a shooting, Salt Lake City Police will investigate the incident.