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MAGNA — A 39-year-old man was shot and killed in a confrontation with police Saturday evening after he reportedly charged officers with a knife.
At 6:49 p.m., Unified police responded to a report of a potentially suicidal man at a home, 3688 S. Deer Valley Drive (8445 West). Officers searched for the man, who was identified as Luis Quintana, of Magna, for about 20 minutes and were unable to locate him before they were called to an unrelated active domestic situation several blocks away, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
At 7:19 p.m., while officers were at the second situation, they received a call that Quintana had returned and was cutting himself with a knife. When police returned, a Unified police officer located Quintana in the street, "actively cutting himself with an edged weapon," Winder said.
The officer told Quintana to drop the knife, but he charged the officer, failing to yield to multiple commands to stop, Winder said. The officer then fired at Quintana.
"(Quintana) was struck at least four times and has been pronounced deceased at this time," Winder said.
Winder said Quintana was a resident of the area and that he had a "significant history" of similar emotional incidents with police.
"It's evident this is a dynamic situation here at this residence," he said. "As to whether he made specific threats to others, we don't know. Clearly, a tragic situation. An individual with significant emotional distress."
Winder said it was unclear if Quintana was attempting to commit suicide by inciting an altercation with police.
"What is evident is he was in the immediate act of trying to harm himself, so we believe he was taking active steps to injure himself when the officer encountered him," he said. "The rest would be speculation at this point."
Investigators and district attorneys were on the scene of the shooting Saturday evening. Winder said the investigation would be conducted by both the Unified Police Department and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Police were also in the process of interviewing five witnesses.
