Carbon County deputy shot 'several times,' suspect dead after incident in Baggs

A Carbon County deputy was shot “several times” Monday in Baggs after responding to a report of a man with a gun, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken said on Facebook late Monday.

Intermountain Air Ambulance transported the wounded deputy, who is not identified in the statement, to a Colorado medical facility. As of early Tuesday morning, the deputy’s medical condition was unknown.

“Please keep our injured deputy and their family in your thoughts and prayers,” Bakken said in the statement.

The suspect, who is not identified, fled in a small truck, according to Bakken. He opened fire on the law enforcement officers again and then drove off the highway and came to a stop. The man died on scene, Bakken states in his social media post.

Bakken’s post doesn’t specify how the man died. The sheriff didn’t immediately respond to WyoFile’s inquiries Monday afternoon or early Tuesday.

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Commander Ryan Cox confirmed in an email to WyoFile on Monday night that the agency is investigating the incident.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, a law enforcement dispatcher reported that she had received a call about a man at 49 West Cedar Street in Baggs who “came out of a house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he is walking around trying to get into an apartment,” according to a recording of scanner traffic from the time.

The dispatcher relayed that the suspect wore green camo pants and no shirt. Around 1 p.m., the dispatcher reported that the suspect had gotten into a truck and was “heading towards the highway.”

Around 1:30 p.m., a law enforcement officer said over dispatch that a “deputy was hit” and residents were “applying treatment.” Law enforcement continued pursuing the suspect. “Shots fired! Shots fired! He hit my windshield!,” an officer said over dispatch.

Sheriff’s deputies as well as Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers pursued the man on Highway 789 north of Baggs, Bakken states. At about 2:20 p.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol announced on social media that its troopers had responded to the report of shots fired and that there was a heavy law enforcement presence in the area.

Reached by phone late Monday afternoon, Baggs Mayor Matt Howell declined to comment on the incident, but said the situation was by then under control. He referred WyoFile to law enforcement for more information.

Photos and videos posted on social media or shared directly with WyoFile show several law enforcement vehicles parked at what appears to be the entrance of Cedar Drive from Highway 789 near a Conoco gas station. Other photos also show a SWAT vehicle.

Several Colorado law enforcement agencies helped Wyoming authorities respond to the incident, according to the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office in northern Colorado. Those agencies include the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, the Craig Police Department, the Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Routt County Sheriff’s Office and the Steamboat Springs Police Department.

WyoFile editor Joshua Wolfson contributed reporting.

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for:

Your real name — first and last.
Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
No more than three comments per story, including replies.

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
Comments that are not directly relevant to the article.
Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know:

Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement.
We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance.
Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you.