Husband and wife die in apparent murder-suicide on U of U campus

Police responded to a fatal shooting on the University of Utah campus shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday. The ARUP Laboratories on Chipeta Way was under lockdown Thursday evening. Photo: Gephardt Daily

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 29, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A husband and wife have died in an apparent murder-suicide Thursday on the University of Utah campus.

Late Thursday, police identified the deceased as Katherine Peralta, 23, and Richard Peralta 25.

The incident began at about 5 p.m. Thursday, according to U of U Chief of Police Dale Brophy. He said the call came in that shots had been fired in Research Park near the ARUP Laboratories building on Chipeta Way.

Police arrived to find Katherine Peralta deceased, and Richard Peralta in “grave condition.” Richard Peralta was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

“It appears the female was shot, and the male then shot himself,” Brophy said. The woman was on the ground near a car when police arrived.”

Police said Katherine Peralta worked at ARUP Labs.

The ARUP Labs building was under lockdown initially, and Brophy said each building on campus has its own lockdown procedure. It was determined by police that the shooting was an isolated incident with no outstanding suspects, and there was no threat to the community.

Brophy said the Salt Lake Police Forensics Department and the U of U detectives division would be working in concert on the investigation.

The shooting was already over when police arrived, but several witnesses were at the scene and were able to tell police what transpired.

Police are still not certain what precipitated the incident, but it appears that Richard Peralta confronted his wife in the parking lot, where he shot her and then turned the gun on himself.

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