A Utah Highway Patrol trooper suffered minor injuries early Monday when suspects in a car he was pursuing through Layton blew out the windshield of his patrol car with a shotgun, UHP reported.
Lt. Gary Gunrud said trooper John T. Mitchell suffered minor injuries from flying glass and debris. He was treated at Humana Hospital Davis North and discharged, Gunrud said.The incident began about 1:30 a.m. when Mitchell saw a car, described as a late model red Toyota Celica, run a stop sign at Hill Field and Fairfield roads, Gunrud said. Mitchell pulled behind the car and tried to get the driver to pull over.
The vehicle went west on Love Lane, then south on Fort Lane, Gunrud said. It was after the car turned south on Fort Lane that someone in it began shooting at Mitchell with a .12-gauge shotgun, he said.
Mitchell's car took several hits, blowing out the windshield and disabling it, Gunrud said, but the trooper was not hit by any gunfire.
Officers from several surrounding police agencies, including Layton, Clearfield and Davis County sheriff's deputies, responded along with other UHP units, Gunrud said.
Roadblocks were set up around Davis County, but the suspect vehicle was not found, he said. Gunrud and the UHP are asking persons with any information about the incident to contact the agency.
The vehicle involved in the shooting may also have been involved in a robbery earlier, according to another UHP spokesman.
"The car was a suspect in a convenience store robbery previous to that," said UHP spokesman Gary Whitney. "The trooper tried to make a traffic stop on a small red car. The guy didn't stop. He started shooting and blew out the windshield."