A burglary suspect with a semi-automatic handgun eluded capture after he fired seven shots at a police officer Thursday, hitting the lawman's patrol car once.
Ogden police Lt. Dave Reed said officer Reid Felter escaped injury in the shooting, which is being investigated as an attempted criminal homicide.When the shots were fired around 2 a.m., Felter was headed to the area of the downtown Marshall White Center as a backup officer to investigate an unrelated aggravated assault.
Reed said Felter was looking for two suspects in that incident when he saw a man running. The man crouched behind a truck, and after Felter pulled his car in front of the vehicle, the man ran away again, Reed said.
As the suspect started to go over a fence at a residence, Felter angled his car, stopped and got out.
"I began to tell the suspect to stop, and I heard seven shots from a 9 mm handgun behind me," Felter's report said. "As I turned and looked toward the sound, I saw the muzzle flashes."
Reed said at least two suspects were involved, with one person hiding behind a restaurant and firing at Felter as the other man started to run.
Felter, who did not fire his weapon, took cover behind his patrol car, which was was hit once, Reed said. An unoccupied vehicle parked on the street was hit three times and one round missed Felter's thigh by less than a foot, the report said.
Police determined that Felter had unknowingly interrupted the suspects while they were loading up from a burglary at a nearby auto shop. Several car stereos, tires and rims were scattered on the ground nearby, Reed said.
Several cars at the business also had been vandalized with paint.
Police blocked off the neighborhood and searched the area with dogs, but no suspects were found.