WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, March 17, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A teenager is in critical condition after being shot in the back by a passenger early Sunday morning while driving through West Valley City.
WVCPD Lt. Robert Brinton told Gephardt Daily the teen was giving a ride to two other juvenile males about 1:20 a.m., when “the one suspect who was sitting behind the driver fired one round through the driver’s seat.”
Despite grave injuries, the wounded teen was able to call police, who found him in the vehicle on Great Lakes Drive.
The injured juvenile told officers he had been approached by the two teens earlier in the night at a party in West Valley City. He said that while he knew the pair, he did not consider them friends; still, he agreed to their request for a ride home.
“After driving around a while, they kind of give him a run-around for a minute and they end up over on Great Lakes Drive” where the shooting took place, Brinton said.
According to Brinton, the wounded teen was taken to a local trauma unit “in critical, but stable condition.
“It looks like it he had entry and exit wounds. It went through the back and out the front. It missed the major arteries and organs, so he’s a lucky kid.”
Both juvenile suspects fled the scene, Brinton said. Both have “histories” and are known to police.
“It’s unknown if they got into a vehicle or just fled on foot.”
The ages of all three juveniles involved in the shooting are between 15 and 17-years-old, Brinton said.
