Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A gunman who opened fire outside the Road Home's downtown shelter Tuesday evening "took a very good shooter's stance" before firing a number of rounds into a crowd of 200 people, Salt Lake Deputy Police Chief Fred Ross said Wednesday.
A 44-year-old man was struck twice in the shoulder and transported to a hospital, but his injuries were not life threatening, Ross said. The shooting occurred at 225 S. 500 West about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
One witness told police that the shooter was wearing a gray coat with a hoodie underneath, gray pants and black tennis shoes. He ran west from the shelter, located at 210 S. Rio Grande St.
"We’ve got some pretty good leads we're following up, right now, that’s why my phone keeps dinging. We’re pretty confident. Since the creation of this (Metro Support) bureau, we’ve been extremely successful in taking violent individuals off the street," Ross told the Pioneer Park Coalition. He commands the bureau, which was launched about 90 days ago, in part to better address crime and other issues in the vicinity of Pioneer Park.
Ross said he had not personally viewed surveillance video that captured the events, "but from what my guys tell me, there were about 200 people on the concrete platform and the dirt triangle there. An individual entered the crowd and was well covered up — there is a camera there. He took a very good shooting stance and fired, eyewitnesses say, a number of rounds and fled."
Salt Lake police describe the shooter as a black male adult. One witness reported two black men in hooded jackets in a white Nissan Altima parked at Artspace Apartments shortly before the shooting occurred.
Anyone with information is asked to call Salt Lake police at 801-799-3000. To remain anonymous, text the keyword TIPSLCPD plus any relevant information to 274637.
