SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 30, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police had their hands full overnight after two separate acts of violence rocked the city’s downtown club district.
The first call was a stabbing on Commerce Avenue just west of State Street about 2:41 a.m.
“There was a crowd leaving the area,” Brent Weisberg, Salt Lake City Police public relations spokesman, told Gephardt Daily in a pre-dawn interview. “There was one person on the ground. That person’s up at the hospital with a critical injury, life-threatening, as a result of a stab wound.”
A second victim walked into a local emergency room at 4:33 a.m. with serious stab injuries believed to be from the same incident, says an SLCPD news release issued Sunday morning.
The statement also thanked South Salt Lake police for assistance.
Gunshots
“While officers were investigating that (the stabbing), they heard several rounds of gunfire coming to the west of them,” Weisberg said. “They immediately went to that area. They started to receive calls about a shooting near the New Yorker. They arrived on scene and did not find any gunshot victims, but they did find property damage to the federal courthouse building.”
At least one courthouse window had been shot out.
“Witnesses told them that the shooter left the area and was running south. Officers did an area check, and they located some evidence pointing toward the hotels downtown near 600 S. Main St.“
Heavily armed officers with a police K-9 set up a containment area. Officers spotted someone matching the description of the shooter near 600 S. Main St., and police and the K-9 surrounded the parking complex at the Little America Hotel, where a lone suspect was taken into custody at about 4:33 a.m.
“Officers recovered a firearm believed to be connected to the shooting,” the news release says.
Asked about reports that an officer’s car was involved in a crash near the stabbing scene, Weisberg said he was still gathering information and could not yet confirm any details.
Police seek witnesses, videos
Weisberg said surveillance video from both scenes is being sought for review, and police would like to talk to people who were leaving the immediate area when first responders arrived at the stabbing scene.
“Officers said people were just starting to leave as quickly as possible, trying to distance themselves from the situation,” he said. “We would just ask that if they happen to have cell phone video or photos of this, please let us know. Sometimes that’s the biggest lead for us. If someone sees something on social media, even that might be helpful. Grab a screenshot if you can, or write down the person’s handle. “That way, our detectives can look into it. Because right now, we’ve got someone who’s out there who has been accused of stabbing two people. So you know, our priority is to identify that person and figure out what happened.”
People with possible information are urged to call 801-799-3000 and ask to speak with an officer.
Gephardt Daily will have additional information as the case develops.
