BAGGS — Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken shared an update on social media regarding the officer involved in the June 8 shooting in Baggs.
According to Bakken, dispatchers received a report of a man with a gun. Sgt. Zach Burns was in the area and responded to the call. Burns located the unnamed suspect and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect then exited the vehicle and opened fire, striking Burns in the neck, arm and hip with a semiautomatic rifle.
Residents of Baggs immediately provided aid to Burns until emergency medical crews arrived. Burns was then airlifted to a medical facility in Colorado, where he remains in critical condition.
Bakken said the suspect set fire to an apartment building after shooting Burns. The suspect then returned to a vehicle and fled north on Wyoming Highway 789. He was later killed in a shootout with Carbon County deputies on the highway.
The investigation remains ongoing and is being conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
A fundraiser has been established for Burns. Donations can be made online, in person at 221 Third St. in Rawlins or 217 N. First St. in Saratoga, or by mail through a beneficiary account at Bank of Commerce. Checks may be sent to: Bank of Commerce, Attn: Benefit for Zach Burns and Family, P.O. Box 50, Rawlins, WY 82301.
