Police arrest man on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated burglary after shooting outside LDS Church

Police have arrested a 30-year-old Smithfield man, Jason Summers, who is accused of shooting at someone while trying to break into an LDS Church, Thursday night.

Smithfield City Police Det. Brandon Muir said, just before midnight, officers were dispatched to a weapons offense near 400 N. 200 W.

“A man reported he had been shot at by another male who was burglarizing a nearby LDS Church building. The man sustained no apparent injuries,” said Muir.

“The man provided information to dispatch that the suspect male had multiple firearms in his possession, had broken windows at the church, and was possibly still on church property.”

When officers arrived on the scene, they performed a protective sweep of the property and secured surrounding areas looking for the gunman.

Muir said, during this time Summers came out of a nearby home and began confronting officers. He matched the victim’s description of the suspected male and was immediately detained on suspicion of multiple offenses.

“Investigators established probable cause that Summers was the same suspected male police had been searching for. He was arrested and booked into the Cache County Jail on suspicion of attempted homicide, aggravated burglary, discharging a weapon within city limits, and multiple other misdemeanor offenses.”

Officers then obtained a warrant and searched Summers’ home, where they found a firearm along with multiple other items of evidence related to the incident. The gun is believed to be the firearm used during the incident.

Muir said it appeared, Summers broke a window on the outside of the church but was caught before getting inside.

“We don’t think he gained entire entry. We think he was in the process of doing it. We didn’t see any evidence that he had actually done any damage inside the church. So we believe that he had just started to gain entry when he was seen by the other man, by the victim.”

The case is being forwarded to the Cache County Attorney’s Office for review and to file formal charges.

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