WEST VALLEY CITY — West Valley City Police said a man shot his ex-wife and her boyfriend, killing the boyfriend and wounding the woman around 6:20 a.m. Friday near 3600 S. Deann Drive. Police have identified the suspect as 40-year-old Jeremy Reed Harris who later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police say the woman is expected to survive after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. The woman’s boyfriend, 40-year-old Nathan Edgar Brower, did not survive, according to police.
After the initial shooting, police said Harris fled the scene and ended up at a stranger’s home about three miles away on Hawkeye Circle.
Darren Wood said someone came into his home Friday morning and flashed a light in his face.
“I thought it was kind of odd for someone to flash their light in my face while I was sleeping," he said. "I thought it was my son, and I’m always very welcoming when he comes in the door."
Wood didn’t even open his eyes. It wasn’t until he went to the bathroom that he said he found Harris asleep in the shower.
“He was breathing really hard," he said. "He was asleep, and I didn’t really think anything of it because I thought maybe my son had brought somebody home."
But then, Wood spoke with his son who said he didn’t know who was in the shower.
“I thought, 'This is unusual,' and so I took my phone in there snapped a couple of photos," he said. "I turned on the light a couple of times and I never scared him. And then when I got back to my room, I thought, 'There is something fishy here,' so that’s when I grabbed my gun and I left the house."
Wood called West Valley City Police for help.
“He was sleeping on a sawed-off shotgun, he had a belt of shells," he said. "It was after the fact that I walked out on the corner of the house and found another handgun."
Harris died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to West Valley City police.
“He was perfectly fine when he entered the home, it wasn’t until the SWAT team that he took his own life,” Wood said.
This is a quiet and safe neighborhood, Wood said. He often leaves his doors unlocked, but says he won’t be doing that anymore. Wood said he is blessed to be alive.
“I feel kind of fortunate in a way," he said. "Even though I have loaded guns in my house for my own safety, I couldn’t have gotten to one fast enough to protect myself."
The suspect and the woman have two children, ages 5 and 10, and police said both children were in the home at the time of the shooting. Those children are now in the care of family members.
