Police shoot, kill knife-wielding man during reported hostage situation in SLC

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Police shot and killed a knife-wielding man during a reported hostage situation at a Smith’s grocery store on Saturday morning in Salt Lake City.

At approximately 9:20 a.m., July 25, 2020, the Salt Lake City Police Department received a call of two males, and possibly a third, fighting while leaving the Smith’s on 455 South 500 East.

911 callers reported one of the men had a knife, described as being the size of a firearm.

At 9:24 a.m., police officers arrived at the Smith’s when they were informed the subjects moved east on 500 South. Police officers located the suspects and, within a minute, advised there was a hostage situation.

At 9:27 a.m., police reported shots fired and the suspect was “down.” Responding medical personnel were asked to expedite their response to the scene.

At 9:38 a.m., the suspect, who police have identified as 34-year-old Andrew Jacob Preece, was declared deceased by medical personnel on scene.

West Valley Police Department will be investigating, as is procedure for an outside agency to investigate officer-involved critical incidents, according to the Salt Lake City Police Department.