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News Specialist Jed Boal reporting
The ambush of a state trooper in Cedar City still has investigators looking for answers.
A gunman yesterday opened fire on the trooper and his family in a public parking lot.
Another trooper then shot the gunman after a chase on I-15.
The Iron County Attorney's Office is still trying to find out why the suspect would open fire on the off-duty trooper.
The trooper, his wife and teenage daughter were leaving an auto supply store on Main Street in Cedar City around noon yesterday when the shooting started.
The trooper's marked cruiser was parked in this lot. As he approached the car, a man fired at least two shots at the trooper.
The trooper and his family took cover. The suspect fled.
Cedar City Police and state troopers caught up with 49-year-old David Lynn Williams of Cedar City three miles north of the city on I-15 after a high speed chase.
Investigators say Williams was ordered out of the car, and he came out pointing a gun. The state trooper shot Williams in the head.
"Certainly there's a lot of emotional stress involved in a situation like that. I think he's very thankful that he wasn't injured and that his family wasn't," says Maj. Neil Porter with the Utah Highway Patrol.
This dash cam video shows the last time a person opened fire on troopers.
A routine traffic stop on I-15 in Millard County turned into a shoot-out. Troopers discovered child abuse warrants. The man refused to get out of the car.
He shot and injured two troopers before they shot and killed him.
Shootings like these, while rare, send a chilling message to law enforcement.
"I think it makes all of us think about how vulnerable we are out here on a daily basis. It gives one an opportunity to take stock and think about how dangerous this job really is," Porter says.
Williams is still in critical condition today, under guard at LDS Hospital.
He's never had a felony arrest, but may have been given a citation by local police back in September.
