OREM, Utah, Dec. 6, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — An 18-year-old man who police say shot two people after being kicked out of a party at an Orem apartment complex last month has been charged with attempted murder.
Jozef Richard Van-Der-Meide, of South Jordan, turned himself into Orem police on Nov. 29 — 10 days after two people were shot at an off-campus apartment complex for Utah Valley University students, charging documents state.
Van-Der-Meide was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, in connection with the Nov. 19 shooting at Axis Luxury Student Living, 1435 W. 800 South.
Two male victims were shot — one in the abdomen and the other in the pelvic area, though the bullet hit the second victim’s phone “and did not penetrate his body,” the charges state. Both shooting victims were expected to make a full recovery, police said. Their ages were not disclosed.
Officers responded to the apartment complex about 1:15 a.m., shortly after Van-Der-Meide had fled the scene, charges state.
Witnesses told police Van-Der-Meide had been at a party on the sixth floor but had been kicked out for kissing a female guest without her consent, according to charging documents.
“When [Van-Der-Meide] was out of the apartment, there was a confrontation and that’s when the shooting occurred,” charges state.
Cameras in the building show a man later identified as Van-Der-Meide “pushing past a large group of people on the sixth floor before entering the stairwell,” according to a probable cause statement filed by Orem police.
Cameras on the third floor later captured Van-Der-Meide exiting the stairwell and “reaching into his backpack with his right hand,” the statement continues.
“Many individuals can be seen entering behind and appear to be wanting to watch the verbal altercation. It is evident that yelling is still going on between [Van-Der-Meide] and the group that enter the floor.”
Police say Van-Der-Meide was 6 to 10 feet from the first shooting victim when he “pulls the gun out of the backpack and points it [the victim].” He then “appears to chamber” another round before firing a second shot, causing the second victim to fall to the ground, according to the affidavit.
Police say Van-Der-Meide fled the scene with two other people, one of whom later identified him as the shooter.
The witness told police he saw Van-Der-Meide flee toward a Utah Transit Authority station and bury the gun near a pole with flashing red lights at 1300 West and 800 South, charging documents state.
Orem police later found a Glock 19 9mm handgun buried under some rocks at 768 S. 1370 West, charges state.
Van-Der-Meide is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail.
