HERRIMAN, Utah — Residents of a townhome community in Herriman are trying to move forward after a tense standoff on Sunday night that ended with police shooting and killing a veteran who was suffering from a mental health crisis.
The situation began around 3:45 p.m. when 38-year-old Alma Worthington called the Herriman Police Department and told them he was contemplating suicide. They negotiated with him for about two hours, but police said the negotiation efforts eventually "deteriorated."
“Throughout the negotiations, there wasn’t a lot of progress as far as de-escalating the situation. He turned down every option we gave him to come out and surrender peacefully and get him resources and help,” said Sgt. Josh Jennings with the Herriman Police Department. “We negotiated until the point that he made the decision to exit the residence, and he exited his residence and engaged officers from our tactical unit. They returned fire, which resulted in his death.”
Worthington fired countless gunshots during the multi-hour negotiations.
“I was sad and confused because he’s a really nice guy, from everything I’ve ever seen. Took good care of his dog, always waved hello. Super sad,” said Nicole Parker, who lives nearby. “I just kept seeing him coming out and back in and I just felt for him because nobody wanted to hurt him, especially the police.”
Other neighbors pointed out nearly a dozen bullet holes on the side of their townhome, three of which went through a garage window with the bullets traveling through numerous garages.
“Our kids were scared. They were scared to go to sleep last night,” said Elizah Gifford, who lives down the street. “We never thought a shooting would happen right in front of our house.”
Neighbors who spoke with FOX 13 News were relieved the situation came to an end but devastated to hear about the outcome.
“I don’t wish this on anybody, and I feel really, really bad for him and his family,” said Gifford.
The community where this took place is a townhome community less than a mile from Herriman PD and @HerrimanCity Hall.
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) November 22, 2022
Countless bullet holes can be found in windows, garage doors and siding of neighboring homes. pic.twitter.com/FKRSsJetBs
“It’s a difficult tragedy for everybody involved. Our hearts go out to his family, for our officers and for the citizens around that area that obviously are going to have struggles with this, too,” Jennings said.
Herriman Police shared a statement on Monday:
“PTSD is real and its impact is felt by many. Our thoughts are with the Worthington family. They will bear the effects of this tragedy for many years to come, as will our officers who were forced into a no-win situation, and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood. We urge anyone experiencing mental health crisis to please reach out through the SafeUT app, the national 988 mental health crisis line, or one of the many other resources available through public and private organizations to help those in crisis find a healthy way out.”
