Armed Man at Mormon Temple Killed in Utah Shootout

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (AP) — A man armed with a shotgun outside a Mormon temple near Salt Lake City was shot and killed by police Christmas Day, a television station reported Saturday.

The man had been in an altercation with another man in the parking lot outside the Oquirrh Mountain Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Jordan, Fox13 said.

The confrontation began about 12:30 p.m. Police arrived shortly afterward and repeatedly ordered the shotgun-toting man to drop the weapon, South Jordan police Lt. Dan Starks said.

When he refused, one officer opened fire, Starks said.

"Officers obviously wanted him to stop. They were fearing for their own safety as well as the safety of those individuals that were here on site already," Starks told the television station. "He failed to comply with that so he was shot. Unfortunately, it killed him."

Officers found numerous weapons, including guns, swords and ammunition, inside the dead man's car, Starks said.

It wasn't clear how many shots were fired by police. Starks said the officer has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and a review by the Salt Lake County district attorney's office.

Police haven't said whether the two men were acquaintances or how the confrontation between them started.

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Information from: KSTU-TV, https://www.fox13now.com