Jeremy Duda

Lehi police officer Captain Harold Terry is in serious but stable condition after being shot twice in the head by a suspect in a traffic stop Monday morning. The shooter, 34-year-old Kelly Wark of Gig Harbor, Washington state, was shot and killed by backup officers.

He said the department is hopeful that Terry will make a full recovery.

"Capt. Terry's condition is steadily improving," said Paul. "We are optimistic and hopeful for a full recovery."

Around 8:46 a.m., a clerk at Walker Oil, near 850 E. Main St., called police to report a possible impaired driver. The clerk told police Wark was driving erratically and had slurred speech and balance problems when she went to the store to buy gas.

Terry, a 16-year Lehi police veteran, pulled over Wark's tan Honda Accord near 1000 East and Main Street at 8:52 a.m. According to Paul, Terry and the driver talked for a few moments before some type of argument started. Wark pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot Terry twice from the driver's seat of her car, Paul said.

After shooting Terry, Wark got out of her car and was shot and killed by three backup officers who had arrived at the scene, Paul said. Terry was able to fire one round after being shot, hitting the suspect's vehicle. Paul said the backup officers fired five rounds at Wark, who was hit multiple times.

"They immediately returned fire," Paul said.

Paul said investigators do not know her motive.

"That's part of the ongoing investigation," he said.

A team from the Utah County Sheriff's Office is investigating, and an autopsy and toxicology test will be conducted by the state medical examiner's office. Investigators are also in the process of searching the Wark's vehicle.

"He approached her, requested her driver's license and there was an altercation at that time," Paul said.

Erin Wark said her sister had suffered from mental illness since she was about 25 years old, but did not have a history of violence. Kelly Wark has no criminal history, and court records in Washington show nothing more serious than minor traffic violations.

"It was a terrible shock," Erin Wark said of the shooting.

Kelly Wark's ex-husband, Craig Hancock, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she told him she had dissociative disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The couple was married for about six months last year and filed for divorce in January.

Hancock told the Tribune that at one point in their relationship, a couple from a Bible study class stopped by their house unannounced to return her Bible. When she saw them, he said, she started screaming that they needed to leave. He went out to explain to the couple that they needed to go, and when he turned around he saw his wife on the porch with a 12-gauge shotgun. He said she also owned a .38-caliber handgun.

Kelly Wark moved to Provo in April to attend school at the Utah College of Massage Therapy's Lindon campus, where she recently enrolled, her sister said.

Gwyn Vukich, Kelly Wark's cousin, said the family saw no indications that Wark's mental health was worsening. After living outside of Washington for the first time in her life, Wark seemed to be doing well, Vukich said.

"She was just such a sweet girl and just such a gifted artist, and we were just all completely shocked that something like this could happen, that she could do something like this," Vukich said. "She wouldn't hurt a flea, I don't think. She was very caring and a very strong Christian."

In a written statement, the Wark family offered its condolences to Terry's family.

As the captain of the Lehi police's patrol unit, one of Terry's duties is to provide training to other officers. Paul described Terry as a leader who is well respected at the department.

His duties do not generally include conducting traffic stops, but he happened to be in the area when the report of the impaired driver came in and was the first officer to spot her tan Honda, so he pulled the car over himself.

"Knowing Capt. Terry, I'm not a bit surprised. He leads by example," Paul said.

Terry also conducts training for the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy, Paul said, and teaches classes at a local college.

Terry's family released a statement on Tuesday, thanking people for their thoughts and prayers.

"His wife and children are very grateful for the outpouring of support we all have received. Harold is a strong man; a great and wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Harold is in serious but stable condition and he will have a very long, hard road to recovery," the statement read. "We thank you again for your thoughts and prayers and ask you to continue to pray for Harold."