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SOUTH SALT LAKE — Police were still trying to determine Monday what a man inside a convenience store was doing when he shot himself twice in the pelvis, and whether he was about to rob the store when he shot himself.
The 24-year-old man, whose name was not released Monday, remained in a local hospital in critical condition, said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller.
The bizarre episode happened about 7:20 p.m. Sunday at a Sinclair Convenience Store, 16 W. 3300 South. A man picked up a drink and a snack and brought them to the counter. He then left the items on the counter and told the clerk he had forgotten something and went to the back of the store, according to Keller.
As the store clerk was helping the next person in line he heard a gunshot and saw the man running out of the store.
The gun was tucked in the front of the man's waistband when it reportedly fired twice, Keller said, striking the man in the pelvis each time.
Whether the gun went off while the man was bending over or it went off as he attempted to pull it out of his waistband was unknown Monday. Keller said detectives also had not determined why the man had a gun or whether he intended to rob the store.
"All we can prove right now, it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We can't prove what his intent was," he said.
Police found the man at the Inn Towne Suites, 48 W. 3300 South. Witnesses also directed officers to another man who was standing outside the store when the shooting happened, apparently waiting for his friend, Keller said. The man initially claimed to police he knew nothing about a gun or the shooting.
"The victim's friend was standing by some bushes and leaned over behind a truck and casually walked away. An officer located a semi-automatic pistol behind the truck," Keller said.
Preston Bryant Bennett, 34, claimed the man who was shot told him to hide the gun, according to Keller. Bennett was arrested for investigation of being a restricted person in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
At the scene, the victim told police simply that someone had shot him. But when detectives tried to interview him at the hospital, he refused to give his name or answer questions, he said.
