Police on Thursday are seeking a suspect in a since-canceled AMBER Alert out of American Fork.
American Fork Police Lt. Josh Christensen said the incident began with a shoplifting at an area Walmart, where a suspect had been stopped by store employees. When officers arrived, the man allegedly got into some type of altercation with police before fleeing.
The suspect, identified as Danny Sihalath, 29, ran to an occupied vehicle. A woman inside exited the car and got onto the ground, Christensen said. However, a 5-year-old child was still inside, something police did not know.
It wasn't apparent if the suspect was aware the child was inside, and police have not yet confirmed if the suspect and the driver of the vehicle has any sort of relationship or if they were strangers.
Police also haven't confirmed the relationship between the woman and the 5-year-old boy.
Officers attempted to get the man out of the car, but he "continued to not comply and began to flee in the vehicle," Christensen said.
Sihalath sped away from the Walmart, hitting the woman and knocking her to the ground in the process.
Authorities said police fired at the car after it hit the woman, unaware that the child was in the back seat. It's unclear how many officers used their guns, but it's believed multiple shots were fired. It's also unknown if the suspect was injured.
Police said the woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to be OK.
An AMBER Alert was issued Tuesday night shortly before 11 p.m. It was canceled about 4 hours later, though police haven't yet confirmed the circumstances around how and where the victim was located or if the child was injured.
According to the most recent information available, the suspect was still at large. It wasn't known if he was armed, but police were treating the situation as if he were.
Sihalath is described as an Asian or Pacific Islander man who is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weights 190 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with black pants and dark tennis shoes.
He has tattoo sleeves on both arms.
The car he was seen driving away is a red 2012 Acura model TSX SE with Utah License Plate 2S2NP. It is missing the front bumper and grill and has damage to the driver's side window.