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Cory Wride. Photo courtesy of the Utah County Sheriff's Office.

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BRIAN WAGNER/Daily Herald It was Utah County Deputy Cory Wride's turn to wear the bite suit for the K-9 demonstration during Springville Department of Public Safety's, "Night Out Against Crime," Monday, August 1, 2005. Families filled Springville Arts Park for a chance to check out ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, finger printing and of course for the free snow cones and cotton candy.

Brian Wagner

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Law enforcement secures the scene of an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Santaquin Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

Mark Johnston

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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — One Utah County Sheriff’s deputy was killed and another injured Thursday in shootings in Eagle Mountain and Santaquin.

Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cory Wride was killed after a traffic stop on SR-73 in Eagle Mountain at about 1 p.m. Thursday. Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said Wride had been with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years and leaves behind a wife and five children.

Deputy Greg Sherwood was shot in Santaquin at the intersection of Center Street and Main Street and is in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.

Sherwood, 38, is a 13-year veteran of law enforcement, working for Springville Police, Spanish Fork Police and the last two years with the Sheriff’s Office, where he is a K9 handler in the patrol division.

“Today we had an evil run through Utah County,” Tracy said.

Tracy said Wride initiated a traffic stop on an abandoned or disabled vehicle, but he never had a chance to get out of his car before he was ambushed and shot with what police believe was a high-powered rifle. Shortly after the attack, dispatchers were unable to reach Sgt. Wride. Deputies who responded to the scene found him shot in his patrol car and he died at the scene. Tracy said he believes the attack was planned. 

“It is my personal belief that was the case,” Tracy said. “They very well could have parked hoping some officer pulled behind him.”

The suspect in the shooting, who has not been identified, then traveled south. Sherwood located him and began a high-speed chase in the Santaquin area. Sherwood was also fired on by the suspect and suffered a head wound. He was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

“His prognosis appears to be good though,” Tracy said.

Tracy said the suspect again fled south on Interstate 15 until he had an accident in the Nephi area. He then tried to hijack several vehicles and succeeded after firing more gunshots, though Tracy said there were no injuries in the carjacking. He continued to travel south in the carjacked vehicle until he encountered Juab County deputies and crashed again.

Tracy said Juab County deputies engaged the suspect in a firefight and critically wounded him.

Tracy said he couldn’t release any information about the suspect but did say it appears as if he had an extensive criminal history. The suspect was not from Utah County. Sgt. Spencer Cannon said the suspect’s home was being searched Thursday night, and a second person has also been arrested in connection with the shooting. However, he said he could not release more details about the second suspect.

Cannon said that Sgt. Wride was a family man, who was liked by everybody. He said there will be resources for the family and fellow officers.

“This effects the community,” Cannon said. “When the public sees this and recognizes someone was out there protecting the public and his life was taken, it makes it hard for everyone. It is especially difficult for family and friends and the law enforcement community.”

Cannon also said there was nothing unusual about the stop Sgt. Wride made, he said that deputies on patrol may make the exact same stop multiple times a day.

The shooting spree included four separate crime scenes spanning more than 50 miles across two counties. The Utah Highway Patrol is handling the investigation in Juab County and asks anyone that may have seen the suspect or was involved with the carjacking to contact them at 801-887-3800. 

Interstate 15 was closed in both directions from mile marker 207 to 222 for several hours while officials investigated the incident.

State Road 73 at Ranches Parkway in Eagle Mountain was closed, but has since reopened. Police said nine students at Frontier Middle School were stuck at school for a time, but their parents were able to pick them up.

In Santaquin, Main Street  from 200 East to Center Street was also closed for several blocks surrounding the crime scene there. Officers from several agencies were in Santaquin investigating, some with metal detectors in the snow.

The Daily Herald’s Janice Peterson also contributed to this report.

1 p.m. - Sgt. Cory Wride stops at SR-73 near mile marker 31 to help what appeared to be a disabled vehicle and is shot. Responding deputies find him dead and send a description of the suspect vehicle to other agencies.

2:51 p.m. - Deputy Greg Sherwood locates the suspect vehicle in Santaquin and pursues him. While the suspect is being pursued, he opens fire on Sherwood and shoots him in the head.

3:20 p.m. - After fleeing south on Interstate 15 near Nephi and carjacking a vehicle, the suspect crosses the median and crashes into a fence. Juab County deputies arrive and are fired upon. They return fire, wound the suspect and take him into custody.