- Sterling and Courtney Johnston intervened during a deadly shooting in Tremonton.
- Sterling disarmed the suspect and comforted him until police arrived.
- The Johnstons' actions are credited with saving lives, including responding officers.
TREMONTON — Tremonton is the kind of place where neighbors know each other.
"It's an amazing community," said Sterling Johnston. "Like everybody greets you at the door."
That small-town feel is exactly why Sterling Johnston and his wife, Courtney Johnston, moved to Tremonton a few years ago to raise their three children.
"Yeah, it's been a great move," Courtney Johnston said. "My kids have been thriving. We all love it here."
But on one summer night this past August, a phone call from their children changed everything.
"He told me that he heard gunshots," she said. "So, I pretty much signaled to him (Sterling), like, you need to get in the car and go."
Their kids were playing sports just a couple of blocks away from their home when the gunshots happened.
Sterling Johnston drove toward the field where he knew his children were.
He had no idea what he was about to see.
"I saw the cop lights, and then I saw the officers on the ground. I had got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk," he said.
Two Tremonton police officers, officer Eric Estrada and Sgt. Lee Sorensen, had been shot and killed.
A Box Elder County Sheriff's deputy, Mike Allred, and his K-9, Azula, had also been shot nearby.
It was at that point that Sterling Johnston saw a man holding a gun.
"I saw him come out of nowhere and kneel on the ground," he said. "He put the gun in his mouth and sat there for a second."
He said he didn't remember being scared in that moment.
He only knew he wanted the violence to stop.
"I feel like God took over. I remember saying that his kids still love him, and he just kind of slumped down. So, I walked up to him, and he gave me the gun," he said.
His wife had run to the scene, calling 911 as she went.
Her husband handed her the weapon.
"I kind of like just panicked a little bit," she said. "I was like, I was a bit hysterical. I kept apologizing to the dispatch. I was trying to speak as clear as I can."
She said she threw the gun into the field.
He stayed close to the man, unsure what else to do as they waited for law enforcement to arrive.
"After I gave my wife the gun, he walked up to me, and I hugged him. I didn't know what else to do to detain him. I told him Jesus loved him," he said.
Moments later, more police officers and deputies arrived.
"He fell to the ground and basically had his head in between my feet and just laid there," he said. "A deputy had pulled up and drew his gun, and I pointed at him, and so he holstered and came and put him in cuffs."
The immediate danger was over.
But Sterling Johnston wasn't done yet.
"After the other deputy had put him in cuffs, I went and laid (with) Sgt. Sorensen and officer Estrada," he said.
He said he stayed with the fallen officers because he couldn't imagine leaving them alone.
"I didn't want them to go like that," he said with tears in his eyes. "I wanted them to have love, you know? And I told them that I was sorry that it happened to them and just hugged them."
Courtney Johnston said she stood nearby, praying.
"I said some prayers for them and for their families," she said.
The Johnstons don't consider themselves heroes.
But investigators say their actions likely saved lives that night, including the lives of officers who were still responding to the scene and neighbors who lived nearby.
"I think after that is kind of when it all hit me from everything," she said.
He said he has thought about that night every day since.
He also says he doesn't want to forget it because the officers should always be remembered.
"Officer Eric Estrada and Sgt. Lee Sorensen were amazing individuals," he said. "I will try my hardest to live and to honor their names."
