TREMONTON, Utah — A deadly ambush in Utah that killed two officers and wounded a deputy has highlighted a troubling and growing trend: law enforcement officers are increasingly being targeted in unprovoked surprise attacks, CBS News reported.
The latest incident unfolded in Tremonton, where officers responding to a disturbance call were met with gunfire almost immediately. Two Tremonton-Garland Police officers were killed, and a Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office deputy and K-9 were wounded. According to Mayor Lyle Holmgren, the suspect intended to “cause harm to as many police officers and public servants as possible.”
| RESOURCE: Officer down! A tactical guide to ambush prevention and response (eBook)
The attack is one of 45 ambush-style shootings of law enforcement reported nationwide so far in 2025, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. The organization reports that at least 56 officers have been shot in those attacks, more than 28% of the total number of officers shot in the line of duty this year. In 2020, ambushes accounted for just over 20%.
The year-to-year totals show fluctuation but an overall elevated risk. According to FOP data, these figures represent the number of ambush-style incidents against law enforcement officers each year:
- 48 ambushes in 2020
- 107 in 2021
- 89 in 2022
- 115 in 2023
- 62 in 2024
- 45 by July of 2025
Since 2018, overall shootings against police have jumped 60%, according to FOP data. Texas has experienced the highest number of ambushes in 2025, followed by California and Ohio.
The FOP and its national president, Patrick Yoes, have called on Congress to act, advocating for the “Protect and Serve Act,” which would create a federal offense for knowingly assaulting law enforcement officers.
“How many more officers must die before Congress acts?” Yoes asked in a July letter following a week in which 10 officers were shot, three fatally.
According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), an ambush involves four elements: surprise, concealment of the assailant, suddenness, and a lack of provocation. Attacks can be either spontaneous or premeditated.
A 2014 IACP study found that 68% of ambushes were spontaneous, while 32% were planned. That report reviewed incidents between 1990 and 2012, when six law enforcement officers were killed in ambushes.
In response to the rising trend, the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division launched a national study in 2025 to examine the motivations and circumstances behind ambush attacks, according to the report. The study includes interviews with perpetrators and aims to better inform police training and prevention strategies.
