OGDEN -- In the wake of the fatal shooting of an officer Wednesday night, the community and community services are responding with their own service.
Agent Jared Francom of the Ogden police died after he was shot while serving a search warrant at 3268 Jackson Avenue with the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force. Three of his fellow officers were hospitalized at McKay-Dee Hospital.
Members of the community called the hospital on Thursday wanting to donate blood in honor of the officers on Thursday. Hospital administrators gave the American Red Cross a call to see if one could happen.
It couldn't right away. A blood drive normally takes place six weeks after an organization requests one, said Jesse Holt, a donor recruitment representative for the Ogden area. He asked for 24 hours to see what they could do.
They canceled a blood drive scheduled for Friday in Logan to bring a mobile blood drive center and staff from around the state to the hospital. By Friday morning, the blood drive was on, and a crowd of people was already waiting to give, he said.
The blood drive started collecting at 10 a.m. on the east side of the hospital.
More than 100 people showed up to donate, including police officers from at least Ogden, North Ogden, Roy and even Park City, Holt said.
News about the drive had gone viral through social media, he said.
"A lot of people jumping into action do more," Holt said.
By the end of the drive at 3 p.m., the American Red Cross had collected 47 units of blood. Each unit is about a pint.
He had to turn people away because the mobile center ran out of space and resources. He directed people to another blood drive going on 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday at the Weber State University student union.
There also will be a blood drive today at the South Towne Center in Sandy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Weber Human Services also wanted to reach out to the community in its own area of expertise. So officials will offer free counseling on Monday night for anyone experiencing trauma after the shooting.
WHS will provide two youth therapists at the meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. Monday at Mount Ogden Middle School. They have no way of knowing how many people will show up or what their needs are, but both group counseling and one-on-one sessions will be available, said Kevin Eastman, WHS executive director.
"Every person reacts a little differently to things like this," he said.
One of therapists' concerns is children. Those who live in the neighborhood of the shootings might not understand what happened or how to process it, which could cause them a lot of stress and anxiety, Eastman said.
"This was one terrible situation that took place that I'm hopeful will not leave a lasting impression" on the community and its people, said Don Belnap, a local LDS Church bishop and president of the Ogden School Board.
When the shooting started Wednesday night, Belnap was in The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints church across the street from the suspect's house. Belnap was talking to a man who had recently moved into the neighborhood.
Theirs is a peaceful neighborhood, but the peace broke about 8:40 p.m. when Belnap heard the first shots.
He and the man brought the 10 women who were at the church for a relief society meeting into the center of the building to stay safe.
"Some additional gunfire was going on, and not knowing what was transpiring outside, we wanted to make sure nobody was by any windows," Belnap said.
The group of 12 was in contact with Weber County dispatchers who advised them to stay inside until an officer allowed them to leave through the west entrance.
Belnap noted that he did not see any anger in the officers that night, only that they were caring and professional. He was happy to open the church to them to use in their investigation, as well as use its restrooms and drinking fountains.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Officer Francom as well as those who were also injured, and the family of Mr. Stewart," Belnap said.
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