TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, April 3, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Unified Police have identified a 19-year-old woman killed in the area of 1100 West and 3900 South early Monday morning.
Maria Alegandra Ayala, of West Valley City, was found with a gunshot wound to the head, UPD Lt. Brian Lohrke said in a tweet.
Lohrke said the call came in at 1:14 a.m. about numerous shots fired near the Callaway Apartments.
Patrol officers arrived to find a car crashed into the back of a van, and a female victim in the car, “obviously deceased.”
Lohrke said as investigators started canvassing the scene, they found shell casings and spoke with several people who reported hearing multiple gunshots, but no one came forward as an eyewitness to either the shooting or the car hitting the van.
The police did learn, however, that some “gang-related individuals” live in an apartment in the Callaway complex.
Officers made contact with four juveniles and took them into custody. The suspects were transported to the UPD for questioning in order to determine whether they were involved in the shooting.
Later Monday morning, Lohrke tweeted all four juveniles have been either returned to their guardians or booked into juvenile detention on pickup orders. No arrests or charges are related to the shooting.
Some of the juveniles are documented gang members, Lohrke added, but police are not completely sure if this shooting is gang related.
Lohrke said the area will be closed down while detectives retrieve evidence. He said they are dealing with a homicide, so investigators will take as long as necessary to gather information and any items related to the case.
The motive for the shooting is not yet known.
