SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 12, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police responded to multiple crime scenes within a two hour period Saturday morning.
The effort “required the assistance of nearly every on-duty officer to include patrol supervisors, and the on-duty night watch commander,” says a statement issued by the SLCPD public relations department.
The first call came in at 4:06 a.m. and reported a stabbing at 60 W. Market St., in the city’s downtown entertainment district.
“Officers, already in the area conducting enhanced patrols, immediately responded,” the statement says. “Due to the size of the crowd, additional officers responded. Officers found several people in a parking lot and in the streets nearby fighting. Officers safely began separating people and looking for anyone with injuries.
“Officers reported that despite their presence, several people continued to fight and argue. Officers found at least three people with minor injuries that appeared to have been related to physical fighting. Of the three people identified with injuries, all declined to be treated by paramedics. Several people left the scene before, during, and after police arrived. Officers have not identified the person or persons responsible for causing the initial fight. No arrests have been made.”
While officers on scene debriefed about that incident, dispatch reported a 4:57 a.m. call about vandalism in progress at 331 E. 400 South.”
“The 911 caller told dispatchers they could see several people on a nearby roof drilling into the building’s air conditioning unit,” the police news release says. “As officers responded, the 9-1-1 caller told dispatchers they could see people going down a hatch. Officers got on scene, found an open door to the building, and started the process of searching. A person inside the building ran from officers.”
The officers inside could also hear sounds of people on the roof, the news release says.
“Due to the logistics of searching a large building with at least one person inside and others on the roof, a patrol sergeant responded and took tactical command of the incident. Because of the fast response from patrol officers and the establishment of a containment area around the building, officers safely took two people into custody. Officers took a third person, found on the roof, safely into custody.”
As officers processed the three suspects from the second incident, and prepared to conduct a full check of the building, they heard two volleys of gunshots nearby. The time was 5:22 a.m.
The shots appeared to come from an area immediate south of their location, near 300 East and 400 South.
“The on-scene sergeant, and other officers, from the trespassing incident immediately responded to the Public Safety Building, located at 475 S. 300 East,” the news release says. “The officers started checking for any suspects, victims, or witnesses.
“As officers flooded the area, an SUV was traveling westbound on People’s Way and took off at a high rate of speed. Officers attempted to stop the SUV, but the driver refused to stop. The SUV reached speeds estimated to be 80 miles per hour. Officers searched the area for several minutes but did not relocate the SUV. While officers searched the area, at 5:27 a.m., a person in front of the Public Safety Building started running from officers. After a short chase, officers safely took that person into custody.
“Officers found a parked car with a spent shell casing on it near the intersection of People’s Way and South Blair Street. As officers searched the area, they found another crime scene near the intersection of People’s Way and 300 East. At this point, no charges related to the shooting have been filed. The motive to the shooting remains under investigation.”
As officers processed the shooting scene near the Public Safety Building, dispatch got a 5:55 a.m. call about a fight in-progress near Glendale Middle School.
“The initial 9-1-1 caller said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people quickly leaving the area. Officers arrived and found a chaotic scene — with several people initially refusing to cooperate. Officers stopped at least five cars before they could leave. Because officers did not know if anyone had been shot, they requested paramedics and firefighters wait nearby. Once officers secured the scene, they started checking the nearby fields and parking lots looking for any suspects, witnesses, or victims. After speaking with witnesses, and finding corroborating evidence, officers determined the shots heard were likely fireworks. Officers did not find any evidence of a shooting.”
Officers from across the city, including day shift patrol officers, patrol sergeants, and the day shift watch commander, also helped respond to the Glendale Middle School incident.
“Any one of these incidents happening alone requires a significant response, SLCPD Chief Mike Brown said in the prepared statement. “To have them occur within this short time frame speaks volumes to the unpredictability of policing and professionalism of our talented police officers.”
These investigations remain ongoing. Anyone with information on any of the cases should call 801-799-3000.
