Our thoughts and prayers go out to the two Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were shot in the line of duty.

Two Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputies performing routine perimeter security encountered an individual on the north side of the Sheriff’s Office Building at about 10:29 a.m., the Salt Lake Tribune reported, on Saturday April 10, 2021.

The deputy shot in the eye is in critical condition, but stable and undergoing surgery, while the second deputy who was grazed in the cheek by a bullet is expected to be released from the hospital soon, officials said.

The suspect is deceased. “I ask the community to join me in keeping these deputies in their thoughts and prayers,” stated Sheriff Rosie Rivera.

‘It could have been a lot worse,’ Rivera said, adding that officials have surveillance video of the shootout.

Rivera said the suspect, a man who appeared to be about 30 years old, is not known to the department and appeared to be a transient.

‘We don’t know what their intent was,’ Rivera said of the suspect.

The suspect was carrying a weapon and opened fire as deputies approached him on a lawn outside the jail around 10.30am, Rivera said. She did not know if one or both deputies returned fire, or how many shots were fired.

‘We are just fortunate that they weren’t killed,’ the sheriff said.

Here are the most recent updates from Sheriff Rivera concerning the two deputies: