Shootings near Zion National Park lead to lockdown, arrest

ROCKVILLE, Utah — A man who is suspected of shooting at vehicles and causing a lockdown of a tourist town outside of Zion National Park in southern Utah was apprehended Wednesday night, authorities said.

It wasn’t clear if any injuries have been reported. Zion National Park spokeswoman Amanda Rowland said the suspect had been apprehended, but she declined to say if anyone had been injured. Springdale Police said in a Facebook post more information would be released at a later time, but didn’t provide details on the incident.

Residents of Rockville, which has about 220 residents, were told to take shelter after reports at 4:30 p.m. that a person shot at multiple vehicles on state Route 9 southwest of the park, KSL-TV reported.

State Route 9 was closed for a period of time in both directions through Rockville, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

Shuttle buses inside the national park were briefly stopped as emergency vehicles sped through the park Wednesday evening.

Zion National Park is one of the nation’s most popular parks. National Park Service data shows the park saw nearly 676,000 visitors in June, topping the number during the same period in 2019 by a wide margin.