Police identify man shot and killed near Salt Lake City motel


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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police shot and killed a man Tuesday afternoon as they were investigating a nearby attempted armed robbery about an hour earlier. They have since identified him as 43-year-old Carl Hinshaw.

Officers were called to investigate an attempted armed robbery at A-1 Vacuum Sales and Service, 1597 S. Main, about 1:25 p.m., said Salt Lake police detective Cary Wichmann.

Investigators were following up leads from that robbery at the Colonial Village Motel, 1537 S. Main, when officers shot Hinshaw at 2:21 p.m. He was taken from the scene in an ambulance but was soon pronounced dead.

"I don't know what led police to the motel," Wichmann said.

Dale Hedden, the longtime owner of a nearby vacuum store, said he was inside chatting with his son when a masked man dressed in black came in and announced he was robbing them.
Dale Hedden, the longtime owner of a nearby vacuum store, said he was inside chatting with his son when a masked man dressed in black came in and announced he was robbing them.

Investigators were releasing only sketchy details about the shooting. They did not say if Hinshaw was inside or outside a motel room or whether he was staying there. The detective did not know whether Hinshaw was armed or what prompted police to shoot him.

No officers were injured in the shooting.

Jimmy Underwood, who was staying at the motel, said he heard four gunshots and came outside of his room to investigate.

"I saw the manager come running across the street and people were shouting, 'He got shot! He got shot!' Underwood said.

Other witnesses saw a woman being led away from the motel in handcuffs, but police did not provide any info about her, either.

Wichmann said police were not certain whether the two incidents are related but they were following leads from the attempted robbery.

Dale Hedden, the longtime owner of the vacuum store, said he was inside chatting with his son when a masked man dressed in black came in and announced he was robbing them.

Hedden, who is 84, and his son didn't take the man seriously.

"We told him there's 4 dollars in the till if you want it, and we just laughed at him," Hedden said.

The man then reached into his belt, pulled out a black gun and said he was not joking around.

"That's when we knew he was serious," the owner said, adding that his son then "got into a bit of a scuffle with him."

During that scuffle, Hedden went into his nearby workshop and retrieved his .38-caliber handgun — and his large Rottweiler dog named Hero.

"His eyes got big when he saw my .38 and the dog," Hedden recalled. The man then ran off as the dog was growling at him. Hedden followed him outside.

"He said, 'My kids are starving. I would never do this.' ... He ran down the street and said, 'My gun wasn't real.' and I said, 'Well mine is' and I shot this wall out here," Hedden said, pointing to the brick front wall of his shop.

"I figured I'd at least scare the hell out of him."

Investigators told Hedden they suspect the gunman was the same man police shot and killed. He said he hopes that isn't true.

"I hate to see anybody get killed. He might have been in dire straits. You never know," he said.

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Written by Jared Page with contributions from Alex Cabrero.

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