Despite a swarm of officers, dogs and a helicopter that combed the east-bench foothills for hours Monday, two burglary suspects who fired a shotgun at officers still had not been located Tuesday.
The call began as a burglary at a home on the 1800 East block of Harrison Ave. (1350 South). Officer Mac Humphries and Reserve Officer Andrea Wagner watched two men through binoculars. They saw them leaving the home about 2 p.m. and watched them load items into a Cadillac El Dorado, said Salt Lake Police Lt. Marty Vuyk.They got into the car and the two officers attempted to pull them over. Instead, they turned south onto Sheridan Avenue (1900 East) from 1300 South, parked the vehicle in the middle of the street and one suspect stepped out.
"One of them with a shotgun pointed it at the officer and fired," Vuyk said.
The shot missed the officers and traveled across 1300 South. Fragments left small holes in the window of Mary Crandall's home.
"I heard all the squealing cars and the sirens and then I heard a boom real loud," Crandall said. "Almost simultaneously I heard something hit the house."
The vehicle, which was stolen from a Sandy home, traveled a few feet farther up the street and stopped again."I saw the yellow Cadillac up the street and I saw the guy get out and aim toward the officers," said neighbor Eric Davey, who looked out the window after the first gunshot.
The gunman cocked the weapon, ejecting the shell, and leaned back over the roof of the vehicle as he aimed the gun at the two officers. "I heard the driver of the vehicle yell, `Get in!' and `Let's go!' " Davey said.
"They drove off very smoothly. That's what's interesting," said another neighbor who asked to remain anonymous. Davey said it appeared the vehicle may have had some mechanical problems.
Sometime after the shotgun was fired, Humphries fired two shots from his service revolver. One bullet hit the street and another shattered the side window of a car parked in a nearby driveway.
The officers followed the suspects, who parked the car in a driveway at 2024 E. Royal Circle (1340 South). They bailed out of the vehicle and ran behind the home. For the next several minutes, police received reports of two men running through back yards and hopping fences, Vuyk said.
Neighbors said wooded gullies and gorges in the area would make it easy for the suspects to escape. More than 30 officers, both off- and on-duty, joined in the search, including Salt Lake County deputy sheriffs. Search dogs also were brought in to try and track the men, as was the sheriff's heli-cop-ter.
Police discovered a shotgun on the floor of the abandoned vehicle and several other weapons wrapped in blankets lying on the floor of the back seat.
Detectives were processing the weapons and vehicle Tuesday for evidence. They expected to be able to lift fingerprints from the weapons, stolen items and beer cans found inside the car.
About 5:30 p.m., a US WEST van was reported stolen from an area near 900 E. Wilson Ave. (1750 South). Vuyk said neighbors reported seeing a man matching the description of one of the burglars in the area just before it was stolen. The van was found hours later abandoned in a Glendale neigh-bor-hood.
Wagner, the reserve officer, declined to speak about the shooting, but Crandall said Wagner appeared quite shaken by the in-ci-dent.
"She said you look down the barrel of a shotgun and it looks like a cannon."
Investigators are asking that anyone who may know the suspects, perhaps by seeing them in the stolen yellow Cadillac before the burglary, contact the police department at 799-3740 or 799-3448.
"It's obvious these people are dangerous to the community," Vuyk said.
Those who live in the area of the shooting say the idea that someone is willing to shoot directly at police officers is very unnerving to them.
"When it's in your front yard, it's very spooky," one neighbor said.