SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 27, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — One suspect is in custody after three men were shot and wounded in downtown Salt Lake City early Friday morning in a confrontation police say may have started with an attempted robbery.
Salt Lake City Police clarified that the man in custody, Justin Singer, 32, is accused of participating in the events leading up to the shooting. He is not alleged to be the shooting suspect.
There are likely additional suspects outstanding, said a news release from the Salt Lake City Police Department Friday.
“The department is taking investigative steps to identify those individuals,” the news release said. “Additionally, it is likely several witnesses left the area before being contacted by patrol officers to give statements.”
SLCPD Lt. Dave Cracroft told Gephardt Daily officers were called to 32 E. Exchange Place about 2 a.m. with reports of a fight and multiple shots fired. When police arrived they found three men wounded in an alley east of Main Street. Officers immediately provided first aid and applied tourniquets to two of the victims. Paramedics transported all three men to the hospital; none of the injuries are life-threatening. Their ages are 22, 25, and 31.
Cracroft said the suspects ran from the scene, but left their vehicle parked nearby.
“We’ve got this car behind me that the suspects were driving and got out of when the conflict started,” he said. “So, they abandoned it, but we are working to find the owner and I think we’ll be able to get these guys identified.”
Crime scene investigators were photographing the area, retrieving shell casings and reviewing surveillance video from one of the bars.
The probable cause statement for Singer from the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake County said he is facing three counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
“A/P (accused person) actively participated by transporting the shooting suspect inside of a motor vehicle,” the probable cause statement said. “The A/P then caused a fight by punching the victim in the face, which created a larger fight and resulting in his associate firing a handgun, striking three people. A/P is being charged as an accessory to the aggravated assault, resulting in serious bodily injury.”
Singer is being held without bail due to the fact that he “acted in concert with his associate in a high civilian traffic downtown area, provoked a fight that led to three people being shot.”
The specific circumstances to the fight and shooting remain under investigation, the news release said.
Anyone with information on this case, especially witnesses who have not already talked with law enforcement, is asked to call 801-799-3000 and reference case number 21-154672.
