Police shoot, kill man who they say threatened to blow up Utah waste-incineration facility

A Utah man who threatened to blow up a hazardous waste incineration facility in Tooele County on Sunday morning was shot and killed in a confrontation with law enforcement officers, authorities said.

A Tooele County sheriff's deputy and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper responded to a call of someone making threats at the entrance of a Clean Harbors facility near Aragonite and Exit 56 off Interstate 80, according to Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the shooting.

The man, who had a gun and was inside the perimeter of the facility, approached the officers when they arrived about 6:45 a.m. and threatened them, Cannon said.

He said at least one of the officers shot the man, who crawled under his truck, where he died. Investigators learned later that he had more than one firearm on him, Cannon said.

Neither of the two officers who responded was injured in the exchange, he said. Both have been placed on administrative leave.

No explosives were found by a bomb squad, Cannon said.

The identity of the deceased man, who lived in Salt Lake County, has not been released pending notification of relatives.

There have been two other fatal shootings by police in Utah within the past week. Police officers shot and killed two men in separate confrontations late Tuesday night in Weber County, one in Ogden and the other in Roy.

In the Ogden case, officers shot a man who allegedly was prowling around cars in a downtown parking structure and pointed a gun at them.

A few hours later, two Roy officers responded to a complaint about a trespasser at a gas station and a physical struggle ensured, according to police. The suspect allegedly pulled a revolver and the officers shot him.

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Twitter: @EmaPen

pmanson@sltrib.com

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