SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 26, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police have revealed the name of the man shot and killed Sunday morning, and some details about the circumstances. They also have issued another urgent plea for tips from anyone who may have more information.
The 30-year-old victim was Nico Christopher Patino, says Brent Weisberg, of the SLCPD public relations department.
Detectives believe the shooting happened at an early morning party or afterparty, and was likely the result of an argument. They believe multiple potential witnesses left the scene in vehicles, Weisberg said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Several calls about gunfire came to dispatch, starting at 4:03 a.m. Officers responded to the area of 1800 W. Fortune Road, the site of multiple industrial businesses in the city’s Glendale neighborhood.
Life-saving efforts were attempted, but Patino died at the scene. Weisberg said homicide detectives arrived at 4:30 p.m., and had been on scene until shortly before the mid-afternoon news conference.
“We are asking our community members for help,” he said. “We believe that there were several eyewitnesses to the shooting that took place around 4 this morning. Several of those individuals we believe left the area immediately after the shooting. We believe that they left in cars.”
Some people who had been on scene remained and talked with police, Weisberg said, but investigators believe someone who may have left before officers’ arrival may have more information or even a video.
“We believe it’s vital that the community come forward to help us solve what happened. We believe that this was an isolated incident, that there was some sort of fight that broke out in the moments leading up to the shooting itself. Why that fight happened and why the subsequent shooting happened remains under investigation. So again, we are asking that anyone who has information to please come forward.”
The number to call is 801-799-3000. Callers can remain anonymous, Weisberg said.
Investigators believe the party was large, with a large number of people in attendance, “and they all gathered up in that parking lot. Then there was the shots that were fired.”
It’s likely someone has photos or videos from before, during or after the shooting, Weisberg said. Most of those who fled likely did so for their own safety.
“This was a chaotic scene. We believe that after the shooting, people — rightfully so — were very scared about what just unfolded in front of them,” so they left the scene. “We are doing everything we can to gather as much information as quickly as possible. We want to make sure that we’re verifying that information, then getting that information out to our officers on the street so they can look for any potential suspects or persons of interest in this case.”
Crime tends to be seasonal, he said, and “we are entering the busiest time of our year right now in terms of crime. We are taking a strategic approach to reduction here in Salt Lake City. But we know that as we get closer and deeper into summer here in just a few weeks that we’re going to be even busier here at the Salt Lake City Police Department, and that’s why we have taken a strategic approach towards crime reduction.”
Weisberg asked that citizens contact police if they saw anything in this case, of if they ever witness something unrelated but suspicious in the future. He asked that people not be embarrassed about the possibility of reporting something that might turn out to be nothing serious.
“We’d rather have that call to make sure that we can do everything we can to prevent any violence from occurring.”
This is the fifth homicide in Salt Lake City in 2024.
