AMERICAN FORK — American Fork police have confirmed that a car that was involved in a police shooting and was the subject of an Amber Alert earlier this month had not one, but two men inside it, and both have since been taken into custody.

On Aug. 9, American Fork police and Utah County sheriff's deputies responded to Walmart, 949 Grassland Drive, about 8:50 p.m. on a report of shoplifting. When officers arrived, they spotted Danny Earl Sihalath, 29, in the parking lot.

Sihalath ignored police commands to stop and ran into the passenger seat of a car being driven by a woman whom he knew and told her to "go," according to a police booking affidavit.

"The female stated she panicked and dropped the key to the vehicle, at which point Danny told her to move over," the affidavit states.

The woman got out of the car and police say Sihalath moved into the driver's seat, put the vehicle in reverse, and hit the woman's legs while backing out of the stall, knocking her over. The woman suffered minor injuries.

While getting out of the parking stall, Sihalath also allegedly nearly hit a couple of police officers. A Utah County sheriff's deputy, who saw the woman get knocked down, "fired five rounds into the driver's seat of the vehicle as it drove forward, attempting to stop the imminent threat the vehicle was causing to the lives of officers and the female," according to a search warrant affidavit.

Officers who were positioned on the other side of the car could see that a child was in the back seat as well as a second man. American Fork police say the second man, who was with Sihalath and the woman, may have been trying to get the 5-year-old boy out of the car when Sihalath took off, and ended up staying in the back seat with the boy.

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As Sihalath sped out of the parking lot, he hit a parked vehicle, knocking off the front bumper. Police chased the car until it was determined to be unsafe to the public.

"Danny fled the scene, resulting in multiple pursuits with law enforcement. During the pursuits, Danny violated multiple traffic laws, drove erratically, and traveled at dangerous speeds. The pursuits were terminated by law enforcement due to the erratic driving and unsafe speeds. A 5-year-old child and another male passenger who were inside of the vehicle during the incident were at risk of death or serious bodily injury because of Danny's actions," according to the affidavit.

An Amber Alert was issued for the boy, who is the woman's son, according to police.

Detectives confirmed the car they were looking for was registered to Sihalath and went to his residence to see if he would show up. While watching the residence, another vehicle pulled up that was registered to one of Sihalath's relatives, the warrant states. Police went to that house in West Valley City where they found the car missing a bumper.

Police later announced that the boy had been found uninjured at a relative's house.

Sihalath was also found and after being treated a local hospital for injuries, he was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault, three counts of child endangerment, two counts of failing to stop at the command of police and shoplifting. Formal charges had not been filed as of Wednesday.

Robert Phillip Rivas, 34, who police say was the passenger in the car, is accused of robbing a Home Depot just prior to the incident at Walmart. While not arrested for the chase, he was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of robbery, shoplifting as well as a warrant that had been issued for his arrest by the U.S. Marshal's Service for violating the terms of his probation on a robbery conviction, according to a booking affidavit.

The police shooting remained under investigation Wednesday.

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