One man was admitted to the hospital after being shot and the shooting suspect is in custody after a 2-hour standoff with police. Vernal PD issued the following press release on Wednesday at about 7:15pm: “Earlier today(6/3/2020), our dispatch center received a call for medical personnel to respond to an unknown problem in the area of 250 West and 400 North in downtown Vernal. Upon arrival, officers immediately determined that an adult male had been shot several times. Medical personnel were immediately on scene and provided care to the male subject. The male was transported to the hospital. Officers were able to quickly identify a suspect in the shooting and teams of officers were sent to locate the suspect. Approximately a half hour later, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of 700 West and 450 South. The suspect fled from the vehicle and ran to a nearby residence on 500 South. After approximately 2 hours of negotiations with the suspect, he exited the residence but was uncooperative with commands and turned to re-enter the residence at which time a canine was deployed. The suspect was then taken into custody. The suspect was provided with medical treatment at the scene. He was then transported to the hospital to be treated for bite-related injuries. 500 South was closed during this incident and several residents were asked to leave their homes for safety purposes. The road is now open. There is no ongoing threat to the community. The Vernal Police Department would like to thank our citizens for their patience and willingness to provide information which was useful in safely resolving this situation. This investigation is continuing. Suspect and victim information will be released once we are assured that the family of the shooting victim has been contacted.”
