40 SWAT Officers Face Utah's Deadliest Shooter Situation

set. This sniper just took a shot at an armed. fugitive holding a family of five. hostage in their home. >> My family being held hostage. >> The gunman, Joseph Anthony, is a man. with a purpose. He has a vendetta and. he's going on a rampage, planning to. kill his ex-girlfriend and multiple.

other people who wronged him in the. past. Police don't know how far he's. gotten on his list of targets. And if. they don't capture him here, this family. could be next. >> Running across the freeway. LET ME SEE. YOUR HANDS. [screaming]. >> ALL UNITS, I'M GOING TO SET CONTAINMENT. We're going to wait for the helicopter. All units, hold your position. >> Suck in. Right. This is showtime. out. >> More police. Police. Police.

>> It's Thursday, September 9th, and the. first sign that something is seriously. wrong comes from an alarming 911 call. >> 911. What is the address of your. emergency? >> Uh, Leon. So, my brother, he uh he's on. the loose right now and he threatened to. kill his girlfriend a couple days ago. He just showed up at my house. >> What's your brother's name? >> Joseph Manhard. He has a firearm on him. and he is armed.

>> Where is he? >> He's outside my front door right now. Um, I need the cops here ASAP. >> I've got units on their way. Okay. >> Okay. You better hurry. >> You got to hurry though. I'm dead. serious. >> Just 24 hours earlier, Joseph Manhard. kidnapped his ex-girlfriend, [music]. assaulted her, and threatened to kill. her. After managing to escape, she. called police, triggering an arrest. warrant for Joseph's immediate capture. Since then, Joseph vanished and police. had no indication of where he might.

strike next until now. With an active warrant and a report that. Joseph is armed and dangerous, officers. are dispatched immediately, advancing. towards the house, fully prepared for a. shootout. >> I've just talked to the homeowner. He's. he said that if he didn't drive, the. only place he could have went is hopped. the fence and is barricaded in that shed. that Swinson's got a view on. So he said. the best way to go through is us just. knock on the door. He'll let us in. We'll go through the house and clear the.

shed. >> We're ready. >> All right. I got the Oh, got it. >> Bye. You want to show us where to go? >> And where's the shed? >> Corner over there. >> You got me? >> Yeah. >> I'm going to have to go through and hit.

it and come swing it out wide. >> Swing out wide and I can step in front. of it. >> Okay. Police. Anyone in there? Police. If anyone's in there, show me. your hands. Come out. >> Can't see in the box. All right. Step in. >> Okay. >> Left. Right. I'm going to.

go. your hands. Anyone in here? Okay. Claire. All right. You didn't make it in here. He probably drove by one of us. >> With no sign of the suspect, Joseph. remains at large. And whatever he came. here to do, he didn't finish it. So. before officers leave the residence, they speak with Joseph's brother, trying. to understand why Joseph showed up and.

what he might do next. What he tells. them reframes the entire situation. According to his brother, Joseph didn't. come here randomly. He was likely. looking for his ex-girlfriend, the same. woman who escaped his kidnapping just a. day earlier. The two had recently broken. up, a split that left Joseph without. stable housing and increasingly angry. His brother also tells police that in. recent conversations, Joseph had been.

talking about tying up loose ends and. ending it all. To officers, it begins to. sound like Joseph isn't just running. He. may be moving with intent, driven by a. personal vendetta and targeting people. he believes have wronged him. If that's. true, it has never been more urgent to. locate Joseph before he reaches someone. else. But it doesn't take long for those. fears to be confirmed because later that. evening, police receive another alarming.

911 call. >> Careful 911. >> My brother-in-law's not right now. >> Okay. Where is he? Is he outside? >> Yes, he's outside. >> Okay. Is he knocking on the door or. what's he doing? >> He's in the front yard. They said they. already have APB out on him. >> Yes. Okay. >> Right now. >> Okay. We're on the way. Um, tell me. exactly where he's at. >> She was out front. She's walking around. out front. >> He's walking around. >> Following this terrifying call for help.

from Joseph's sister-in-law, officers. are dispatched [music] to the home once. again. But by the time they arrive, Joseph has already vanished. This time, however, officers decide to canvas the. surrounding neighborhood before leaving. A decision that will prove critical. Nearby CCTV footage captures Joseph. getting into a car and speeding away. from the property earlier in the day. [music] For the next few hours, patrol. units search across the city, but the. white Hyundai remains out of sight. But.

over the next several hours, Joseph's. decisions will force officers into one. of the most dangerous manhunts of their. careers. For the next few hours, patrol units. search across the city, but the white. Hyundai remains out of sight. Then, around 1:30 a.m., a lone patrol unit. spots a vehicle matching the description. and immediately initiates a pursuit.

28. right now just. >> as the officer begins to close the. distance, he suddenly loses sight of the. car Joseph is believed to be driving. But just minutes later, as patrol units. continue canvasing the area, one officer. spots Joseph's car parked on nearby.

train tracks. With no way of knowing. whether Joseph is still inside or hiding. close by, the officer cautiously. approaches the vehicle. >> He went right through. >> Hey, I have civilians here saying that. there's a car parked on the tracks at. building hotel 3 on the southwest end. Can I get a couple more of this way? >> 31 headed that way. It builds up to 76. I have visual on the.

vehicle. It looks like it still might be. occupied. I forget. south corner of hotel. We'll click vehicle might be abandoned. If we can start getting the containment. close in and then I can start my dog. The car turns out to be empty and. there's no sign of Joseph anywhere. nearby. By abandoning the vehicle here, Joseph appears to have given officers an.

advantage. He is now on foot without. transportation. Police finally have a. chance to corner him. But that window. closes almost immediately as just 20. minutes later, Joseph makes his next. move. >> 911. >> Yeah, this is the utility trailer. I. just had a lady walk in the front door, said her car was stolen and she was shot. at. >> What kind of car? >> Blood on her. >> We're We're in the area looking for this. guy. Could she tell you quick what kind. of car? >> Over here.

>> What kind of car? >> Kia Optima. >> As dispatch gathers details from the. call, patrol units across the area are. alerted to be on the lookout for a. stolen white Kia Optima taken at. gunpoint. At the same time, one patrol. unit is sent to the scene of the. carjacking to speak directly with the. victim, where they'll learn just how. close Joseph is to committing his first. murder. >> Do you mind if I talk to you for a. second, ma'am? >> Okay. Do you mind just telling me what. happened? >> Um, so I was sitting in my car and he.

was like, "Hey, do you have a cigarette. or no?" He asked me if I had a lighter, sorry. [music]. And I was like, "Yeah." And I only. rolled down my window like this far and. I handed him my lighter and then he was. handing it back to me and then he just. shoved his arm in my window and I just. started rolling it up and I started. screaming and he was like, "I have a. [ __ ] gun." And then he pulled it out. and I just kept rolling out the window. trying to scream and then he just shot. it out the window and then I just opened. the door and I see [ __ ] have it. Have. it. And then I just got out and ran.

>> Okay, >> by this point it's clear Joseph has lost. control [music] and this woman is lucky. to be alive. But that might not be the. case for whoever crosses his path next. Because just minutes later, around 2:00. a.m., a patrol unit spots the stolen car. speeding down the highway heading toward. Utah County. As soon as the pursuit. begins, Joseph starts swerving across. lanes, forcing other drivers to react. and putting innocent lives directly in.

danger. southbound right now. >> With Joseph refusing to slow down, it's. only a matter of time before someone. gets hurt. So, to bring the pursuit to. an end, an officer approaching from the. opposite side of the highway pulls over. and prepares to deploy spike strips. At. highway speeds, there's no margin for. error. The spikes have to go down.

seconds before Joseph reaches them. Too. early and he'll see them in time to. swerve around and put innocent lives at. even greater risk. Good spikes. Good spikes. Southbound. Shepherd need.

>> running across the freeway. He's running. across the freeway. He's in the. northbound lanes. He's in the northbound. lanes. Red jacket, LET ME SEE YOUR. HANDS. HE'S uh he's hopping the fence. He's over the fence now. He's over the. fence now. Now we need units to. frontage. >> He's on frontage now. On frontage is. going to housing complex over here. by a a white like fence is about to hop. He's hopping it into someone's backyard.

>> After abandoning his car, Joseph runs. towards a residential area surrounded by. homes where families are asleep inside. Knowing how dangerous and unpredictable. Joseph is, officers now have to cut. through the busy highway and move. quickly to find him before anyone else. is put at risk.

No, he he's behind that picket fence. right there. Whatever address that is. I. don't know what the hell that is, but. he's behind that. Negative shotage. toward that. >> 202. come out that way. >> over this vinyl right here. That's where. you went in this backyard. >> I copy, sir. I will be headed our.

direction shortly. >> Where are you? >> You hop this one right here. >> All units, I'm going to set containment. We're going to wait for the helicopter. All units, hold your position. Don't go. walking around. >> With Joseph disappearing into a. residential area, the situation becomes. far more unpredictable. By now, more. than 30 officers are flooding the scene. And without coordination, every decision. risks putting innocent families in. danger. This is when Sergeant Sheldon.

arrives and takes control. >> You guys, >> stand by. I'm setting containment. All. right. Sorry, bro. I don't have all the. information cuz we switched us last. minute. Okay. So, what do you guys got? >> So, he already shot someone in the free. port center. >> Um, it's probably going to take like. half an hour for that bird to go. >> He hopped over that fence right there. >> Which fence? >> That one right there. >> After a quick brief, Sergeant Sheldon. forms a plan to flush out Joseph. First, a helicopter is called in to scan the.

neighborhood from above. Second, a. tactical operations center is. established near Joseph's last known. location to coordinate [music] every. unit in real time. And third, officers. set up a wide containment zone covering. more than a square mile with units. positioned throughout the neighborhood. to cut off any possible escape routes. But just as the plan goes into motion, officers are abruptly interrupted by a. sharp sound in the distance. Not sure if that's where they came from.

>> Right where Preston's at. That's where. the shots came from. It was one single. shot. >> Preston, are you okay? Hold your. position. I'm sending a unit around to. you. Go to. >> We're going to get if we can get someone. over here to the north of 2025 North. Front containment. Y. >> I'll set containment. You guys come up. with a plan to systematically search. this. >> Okay. The gunshot confirms one thing. immediately. Joseph is still in the. area. But what officers don't realize.

yet is that the shot wasn't random. It. was Joseph forcing his way into a nearby. home. And in the next few hours, the. situation will escalate in ways officers. aren't prepared for. But before we get. to that, sometimes the scariest horror. stories happen in your own head. Like. disturbing thoughts you don't want but. can't stop replaying. thoughts like, "You're going to cheat on your partner. and ruin everything." [music] Or, "That. memory doesn't feel clear. What if I did. something terrible and forgot?" These.

thoughts can feel so real and. threatening that you start behaving in. lifealtering ways to try to make them go. away. Maybe you spend hours [music]. trying to figure out what these thoughts. mean or constantly seek reassurance that. you're not a bad person, but the. thoughts just get more persistent. If. this sounds familiar, you might be. experiencing OCD. Contrary to what many. people think, OCD isn't about being neat. or organized, real OCD [music] involves. distressing, intrusive thoughts and. behaviors you do to try to relieve the.

distress. OCD can be debilitating, but. it's highly treatable [music] with the. right kind of specialized therapy. And. that's where NOCD comes in. NOCD is the. world's largest [music] OCD treatment. provider with licensed therapists who. specialize in ERP therapy, the most. effective treatment for OCD. Sessions. are 100% virtual. They accept most major. insurance plans and they provide support. between sessions when it matters most. To learn more, go to nocd.com and book a. free call. That's ncd.com.

Approximately an hour after the gunshot. was fired, the helicopter finally. arrives and begins a full aerial sweep. of the neighborhood. But Joseph is. nowhere to be seen. On the ground, officers spread out searching for Joseph. and cautiously prepare for an ambush. >> Uh, 4Runner.

>> Gotcha. Contact the homeowners already. >> Bountiful police. Hi, Battlefield Police. Did you guys get. >> Oh, sorry. We're just looking for somebody in the. area. Um, your home is secure. Didn't. notice anything suspicious. Okay. He's. going to have white male, red shirt. You. see someone like that, give us a call. >> Okay. >> Um, if you find them or see them or.

anything, give us a call 911. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. So, maybe you're good. It's. fine. Just make sure you lock your door. >> Who in the hell is this guy with us? He's. >> driving me crazy. After more than 2. hours of knocking on doors and checking. backyards, there's no sign of the. suspect. Joseph's absence becomes. increasingly unsettling, and Sergeant. Sheldon quickly recognizes what it. likely means. If Star 9 can't find him, we have a totally different situation, right? Cuz he potentially could be any. one of these houses. He could be taking.

people hostage. He could have broken in. and it's unoccupied, right? So, we have. all of this [ __ ] that we're going to. have to filter through. Um, and that's. going to have to take. >> How many houses are we looking at? >> Resources. >> Uh, I would estimate eight on this side, 6 to 10 on this side. >> At this point, Sergeant Sheldon and his. team are forced to consider multiple. scenarios, including a barricaded. suspect holding hostages inside. But. they won't have to weigh those.

possibilities for long because one phone. call is about to answer that question. for them. >> 911. What's your emergency? My. my family is being held hostage. >> Immediately after this, officers spread. out and quickly locate the caller. nearby, Chris Samuelson, a father who. managed to escape the house just moments. earlier. What he tells them is chilling. Inside the home, his wife, two.

daughters, and his daughter's boyfriend. are still being held at gunpoint, and. Joseph is inside with them. With this. new escalation, Sergeant Sheldon knows. this is now beyond the scope of a. standard response and prepares to bring. in specialized tactical support. >> All units, priority traffic. All units, priority traffic. We have information. from a citizen leaving a house. >> Oh jeez. >> All bountiful, return to talk. All.

powerful swarm return to talk. >> Victim's wife, daughter, and daughter's. boyfriend are all on the couch. Suspect. was sitting in a chair just behind the. couch. >> Daughter has another daughter that was. sleep is sleeping downstairs that should. be waking up in the next couple of. minutes. Suspect gain access to the. house through an unlocked window in the. basement. After SWAT teams arrive and are quickly. briefed on the situation, they begin. coordinating their next steps, preparing.

to establish containment and open. negotiations with Joseph. But before a. plan can fully take shape, someone is. spotted exiting the back door of the. Samuelson home. >> Say female one side. John. >> Miraculously, the daughter who'd been. sleeping in the basement somehow managed. to slip outside without Joseph ever. noticing. And without realizing it, Joseph's hostage count is now down to.

three. With that update, commanding. officers begin reassessing the situation. in real time. They review everything. Joseph has done over the past 36 hours. and determine that he has shown a. complete disregard for human life and. willingness to escalate when under. pressure. Based on that assessment, commanders make a critical decision. SWAT teams are authorized to use deadly. force if a clear opportunity presents. itself. From this point [music] forward, the priority is clear. Protect the.

hostages at any cost. >> Dial the [ __ ] in. Right. This is. showtime. >> Okay. Dial it in. Make sure we are. squared away. Some cities in. a press shut out. Do it again. So, we're throwing a bang as soon as the. door gets open. >> Okay, >> suspect. >> I don't know where we're going yet. Hold. on. >> Don't be by or do I need left? >> Everybody see this? Right facing east.

Garage is on the right. That's where the. man door is going to be. That's going to. be our secondary. Okay. Front door opens. in. This is the living room we got set. up. This is the kitchen area. Okay, everybody. >> Wrong side on that. >> Yep. Wrong side of that. on this side. >> All right, fell bre. We're going to. practice to the right behind the stairs. >> Wait, if daughter snuck out window, that. means the bottom window is open, right? >> This is the fastest way to get this. fast. >> It's the fastest way. We have a. flashbang. We're going to reset his loop. and come in. Let's keep practicing.

Wherever he's at in this room, you guys. are going to [ __ ]. >> two banks. >> Two banks. >> Want to do two bangs? >> No, one bank. >> Just one. >> Just one bank. >> With deadly force authorized, a. coordinated plan is put into motion. one. designed to end the threat and extract. the hostages safely. A sniper will be. positioned nearby, ready to take Joseph. out if he's exposed, and a clear shot. presents itself. At the same time, negotiators will make contact with. Joseph, work to slow him down, gain.

compliance, and convince him to release. the hostages, and surrender peacefully. If that fails, they have one secondary. objective. Get Joseph to step outside. because if he does, even briefly, it. could create the opening the sniper. needs. With three innocent lives at. risk, there's no room for error. One. wrong move and everything ends. tragically.

We're good. Thanks, man. The officer assigned as the sniper is. Jared Tadahara, a long-erving police. officer who moved from patrol and street. crime work into a specialized SWAT. sniper role. After arriving on scene, Tadhara conducts a quick tactical. assessment and moves into a nearby house. facing the Samson home. From here, he.

has a clear view of the backside of the. house, a position that allows. observation without being easily visible. to the suspect and provides a safe. distance to avoid interfering with. perimeter officers. But Tadihara isn't. working alone. Every sniper has a. spotter, a second officer responsible. for range calculations, wind. assessments, and most critically, confirming that the shot is clear before. Tadihara pulls the trigger. Across the. street, negotiations continue. For the.

past 3 hours, officers have been trying. to reason with Joseph, urging him to. surrender and release the hostages. But. Joseph refuses. He won't let anyone go. and threatens to kill the entire family. if officers attempt to force entry. With. three people at fatal risk, a precise. sniper shot becomes the only way to end. the standoff before it turns deadly. But. before officer Tadhara gets that. opportunity, he receives crucial. information that makes things a lot more.

risky. >> Difference in suspect. Suspect appears to have shorter wider. mouth. Okay. Slightly rounded face. must actually go to the same thing. >> Unfortunately for Tatahara, the. situation just became far more. complicated. One of the hostages inside.

is a male who closely resembles Joseph. One wrong shot and an innocent person. could be killed. With that in mind, Tadhara shifts his position to a. different house across the street. He. needs an angle facing the front door of. the Samson's home. The shot at this. distance travels roughly 75 to 100 ft. and takes less than a second from. decision to impact. At the same time, negotiators reassess their approach.

What's been alarming them throughout the. standoff is that Joseph hasn't made any. traditional demands. He didn't ask for. money, car, or safe passage. Instead, he's simply refusing to let anyone go. That behavior begins to make sense once. investigators provide more insight into. Joseph's condition. According to them, his mental state has been deteriorating. for hours. He's been heavily using drugs. for days. His thinking is no longer. rational or strategic, and his behavior. is increasingly volatile. Most.

concerning of all, Joseph isn't. releasing the hostages or surrendering. His endgame appears to be killing people. he blames for all his problems, then. forcing police to kill him or take his. own life. Because of this assessment, SWAT officers remain positioned far back. to avoid provoking him. Negotiators then. ask Joseph to step outside the front. door with the hostages to prove they're. still alive. If he does, it will give. Tadhara a clear view and [music] a. chance to take the shot. It takes time,

but Joseph eventually agrees to walk to. the front door with the hostages while. warning he'll shoot them if officers. make any aggressive moves. After 2 days of chasing Joseph, officers. finally have a chance to bring his. violent rampage to an end. With the SWAT. team nearby staged for immediate entry, Officer Tadihara prepares to take the. shot. He stabilizes his rifle using a. bipod, a small stand attached to the. gun, then lies prone, steadies his.

[music] aim, and slows down his. breathing. A few seconds pass, and then. the front door begins to open. Out. Go, go, go. Out. Out. Go. Go. Go. Go go go go go.

>> I think we're good right now. >> Unless they start calling somebody this. door. This one. This door. One more. One more. One more. >> Police. Police. Police. Holy. >> Got you. We got him. We got him. We got. him. >> Hands up. Hands up, bro. >> I mean, I don't know. Maybe a piece of. his skull hit me or something. I don't. know. You're good. You're good.

>> You sure? >> Yeah. You're good. Let me see. Let me. see. >> Maybe a piece of his skull hit me. Can I. hit Something hit me? Can I point? Something hit me. Right. I see. I see. >> What do you see? >> He's okay. He's okay. >> Grab him. Grab him. Okay. You okay? You. got anything? >> She's shaking. >> Yep. [laughter] I got you. I got you. Just hold on to me. Hold on to me. I got. you. >> Don't get me over. Okay, >> you're safe. You are safe. >> After more than 6 hours trapped inside.

with an armed, unstable man, the entire. family survives, an outcome that just. minutes earlier felt far from. guaranteed. [music] At the front door, Joseph Manhard lies critically wounded. Paramedics rush him to the hospital, but. [music] despite life-saving efforts, he's later pronounced dead. Investigators later determined that. Joseph's actions were driven by a rapid. collapse. His failed relationship and. heavy drug use pushed him into.

increasingly violent and reckless. behavior. By the end, he wasn't trying. to escape or survive. He was acting like. someone who had nothing left to lose.