On the morning of August 9th, at approximately 6 am, an FBI team conducted an operation at a residence near Independence High School in Provo. During the operation, the resident lost his life. He had been connected to threats on social media against government officials.
Eyewitnesses reported that the FBI team approached the victim’s home and attempted entry. Initially, they tried to gain access through the door using a battering ram. Unsuccessful in that attempt, they subsequently utilized a vehicle-mounted ram to enter via the front window. During the course of their entry, gunshots were heard and the victim was shot. His body was subsequently removed from the house by law enforcement officers and placed on the sidewalk.
In his late 70s, the elderly man had been a long-time resident of Provo. A retired weld inspector, he shared his home with his disabled adult son, who he cared for. The criminal record of the man contained Facebook posts in which he said he was going to assassinate President Joe Biden and others in government.
Upon review of the victim’s Facebook, he had been making these and other outlandish, threatening statements for some time, as far back as September of 2022.
The Cougar Chronicle received the following statement from the FBI upon request for comment:
“The FBI is reviewing an agent-involved shooting which occurred around 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, August 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. The incident began when special agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence. The subject is deceased. The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide.”
On Wednesday evening, video emerged of the altercation taken by a neighbor at around 6am.
🚨UPDATE🚨 video of Provo shooting has emerged. Unclear what caused it in video taken by neighbor.pic.twitter.com/XHw9hqF78J
— The Cougar Chronicle (@TheCougChron) August 10, 2023
The poor quality video shows a portion of the raid with several agents standing outside by their vehicles. Most audio is indiscriminate and it is hard to make out how the events unfolded.
At one point an agent yells, “Give me a bang,” and an explosion from the left hand side of the house takes place. The video ends shortly after the explosion.
Explosion originates from the left side of the house as it goes off. pic.twitter.com/NZXZLJFAVJ
— The Cougar Chronicle (@TheCougChron) August 10, 2023
This is a breaking story and will be updated as needed.
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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