- A West Valley standoff ended with gunfire, critically injuring Steven Allen Whites, police said.
- Police responded after Whites allegedly pointed a gun at a driver post-collision.
- Nearby schools enacted secure protocols; no officers were injured during the incident.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A standoff between West Valley police and a barricaded man ended with an exchange of gunfire and the barricaded man being critically injured on Monday.
SWAT team members had been attempting to negotiate with a man who they say barricaded inside his home after allegedly pointed a gun at another driver. After negotiations failed, the SWAT team attempted to enter the residence by "breaching" the door. As officers entered, the man fired shots, and at least one officer returned fire, shooting at least one round, according to West Valley police. The man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
No officers were injured.
Just after 8 a.m., a woman called West Valley police saying she was involved in a minor traffic collision with another vehicle near 3450 W. 3500 South. But when the woman approached the other driver to exchange information, he pointed a gun at her, according to police.
The woman gave police the license plate number of the other vehicle. When officers went to his residence in the 3600 West block of Oxford Way to talk to him, "he displayed a gun and barricaded himself inside the house," police stated.
A SWAT team was called to the residence just after 9:30 a.m. The ensuing standoff prompted several schools in the area to take precautionary safety measures.
Daniel Woodruff, KSL-TVGranger High School, Westlake STEM Jr. High, and Pioneer Elementary School were the schools affected, and each enacted "secure protocol" measures, meaning the exterior doors were locked, but classes continued as usual inside, according to the district. The safety measures were lifted after the shooting.
Police say the shots were fired just before 11:30 a.m. The injured man was identified Monday afternoon as 42-year-old Steven Allen Whites.
Area resident Alexander Ashford, whose son attends one of the schools that was affected, said, "I was just about to head out and – going to the grocery store, and I just come up to, I guess, see SWAT team outside and the roads are blocked off, so it was kind of crazy."
"I guess West Valley's getting more and more and more crazy. I've been in West Valley for 33 years and it used to be a really safe place to live. It's been getting crazier over the years. I'm not really sure what's the cause, but that's the second one in this neighborhood," he said, noting a fatal shooting in the area about one year ago.
Contributing: Daniel Woodruff
