LAYTON — A suspect is dead after first shooting and injuring a Utah Highway Patrol Officer in Layton early Friday morning.
The shooting occurred just before 2:30 a.m. at 3000 North Hillfield Road near the south gate of Hill Air Force Base, Fox 13 News reported, when UHP Sgt. Paul Kotter tried to stop a car to tell the driver that the road was closed due to construction.
The driver, identified as 21-year-old Drew Moyer, reportedly smelled of alcohol and shot Kotter several times. The trooper, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, returned fire, and Moyer’s car crashed into a water truck.
When officials reached the suspect’s car, they found Moyer dead inside the car of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said, but investigation is continuing.
Kotter was shot twice in the back and once in the buttocks by Moyer. The two shots to the back were absorbed by the trooper’s bulletproof vest, and his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Fox 13 News update, 11:53 a.m. Friday, reports Kotter is out of surgery and doing well.
Officials say the trooper was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, but a dash cam in his car might have caught the shooting.
Fox 13 News contributed to this report. Read and see more here.
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Sad story with a happy ending.