Charges Filed Allegedly Threatening First Responders with Gun

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced felony charges filed against Sebastian Hernandez for allegedly pointing a gun and threatening to kill first responders after they had started treating him for a medical emergency.

On February 24, 2024, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) responded to the area of 2500 South and 600 East in Salt Lake City to treat Mr. Hernandez for a medical emergency. As the EMTs treated the defendant in their ambulance, he became combative, got off a stretcher, and left the vehicle. The defendant then tried to fight fire personnel on scene, but the fire officials left, and the defendant went inside his home. As the EMTs stayed on scene to clean their equipment, the defendant came back out of his home with a black handgun and his finger on the trigger. The defendant told the EMTs to leave and allegedly threatened to kill them. Police responded to the scene and after the defendant refused to turn himself in initially, he was eventually taken into custody. A BB gun was found in his residence that matched the gun described by the EMTs.

The defendant has been charged with two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault and a class B misdemeanor interference with arresting officer.

“We are grateful that the first responders in this incident were not injured. We appreciate both the medical and law enforcement personnel that respond to potentially dangerous scenes on a daily basis to help keep Salt Lake County safe,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We appreciate the work of Salt Lake City Police Department for their use of less lethal means to help deescalate a potentially volatile situation. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”