The gunman was dead, said Rosie Rivera, the county sheriff. The shooting happened after “some type of altercation,” she said.
Two deputies were wounded — one shot in an eye and the other in the face — after “some type of altercation” outside the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff said.
The sheriff, Rosie Rivera, said the deputy who was shot in the face was in stable condition and the other was in critical condition.
The gunman was dead but Sheriff Rivera did not specify how the person died. She said the altercation took place on a grassy area outside the office, where it is common to find individuals sleeping or waiting for a bus.
“These types of incidents are really devastating for the department, and we hope and we pray that our deputies will be OK,” the sheriff said at a news conference. “The environment for law enforcement right now is extremely dangerous.”
The two deputies were part of a team that oversees campus security surrounding the office and nearby Salt Lake County Metro Jail, which are in South Salt Lake, Sheriff Rivera said. The deputies and the gunman were not immediately identified.
After the shooting, which happened around 10:29 a.m. local time, Sheriff Rivera said the jail went into a lockdown. Some nearby streets were also shut down.
“We don’t have any indication that the jail is in any danger at all,” she said, adding that lockdowns are standard protocol in such cases.
Peer-support teams were being made available to help county workers and the families of those involved, and neighboring police departments were offering help as well, the sheriff said.
“This is just shocking,” she said. “We’re a strong family, and we’ll make it through this. It’s just tough right now for all of us.”
