SALT LAKE CITY — A male who authorities say was wielding a broomstick was shot and critically injured by Salt Lake City officers Saturday night, touching off several hours of unrest downtown as officers donned riot gear and blocked streets and bystanders threw rocks and bottles.

The male shot by two Salt Lake City police officers was in critical condition at a local hospital Sunday morning after being struck twice in the torso, according to Detective Ken Hansen with the Unified Police Department, which is investigating the shooting.

Hansen did not have details about the male’s identity or age, but a bystander told The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News that the male was a teenager.

Hansen said the shooting occurred when two Salt Lake City officers were called around 8 p.m. to break up a fight near a downtown homeless shelter that sits next to a shopping mall and movie theater.

When the officers arrived, they found the male in the street, hitting another person with the broomstick, Hansen said. Officers tried to break up the fight, but the male with the broomstick tried to attack an officer, he said.

One or both of the police officers then shot the male, Hansen said.

He did not have details about the identity of the other person involved in the fight or whether anyone else was hurt.

After the shooting, bystanders began yelling obscenities and throwing rocks and bottles at police, who called in about 100 officers to help.

Associated Press