Police: Man killed in officer-involved shooting in West Valley City

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting in West Valley City.  Authorities say he broke into two homes, one with young children inside, before he was shot by police.

West Valley City police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku said it started with a report of a theft at a Cricket Wireless store at 3411 S. Redwood Road.

When officers arrived, Vainuku said they spotted a person matching the suspect’s description.

When they approached him, police say the man ran.

West Valley Police Chief Colleen Jacobs says the suspect then broke into two homes near 3500 South 2100 West.

“The suspect entered a home and had a confrontation with the homeowners,” said Jacobs. “He then fled again and successfully entered another home. There were three children in the home at that time.”

Police say officers chased the suspect into the second home, located at 3580 S. Jenelles Bay (2140 West).  What happened next is under investigation, but that’s where the shooting happened.

“At some point, three officers entered the home, shots were fired and the suspect is deceased,” said Jacobs.

Kim Nguyen lives nearby. Her husband heard the gunshots.

“He was just laying on the bed and he heard something like fireworks or something,” said Nguyen. “But no – it was gunshots. Boom, boom, boom.”

Police say the three children, pre-teen and younger, who were in the home at the time of the shooting, were not hurt. None of the officers were injured either.

Investigators believe the suspect chose the homes at random.

“To our knowledge, he does not have any connection to either of the homes and he did force entry into those homes,” said Jacobs.

Police have not released any information about the suspect and say they’re still working on identifying him.

Because it’s an officer involved shooting, the Unified Police Department has taken over the investigation.