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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has sided with a trial judge in ruling that a woman whose daughter was killed in the 2007 Trolley Square shooting can sue the pawn shop that sold the gun to the shooter, Sulejman Talovic.
In an order issued June 16 and released Monday, Associate Chief Justice Matthew Durrant denies a petition to appeal filed by the pawn shop, Rocky Mountain Enterprises or Sportsman's Fast Cash, and employee Westley Hill.
In February, 3rd District Judge Glenn Iwasaki determined there were "genuine issues of material fact" that warranted moving the case forward. Attorneys for Rocky Mountain Enterprises had sought to have the judge grant them summary judgment in the case. When he declined to do so, they petitioned the Utah Supreme Court for an appeal.
It was Feb. 12, 2007, when Talovic, 18, shot and killed five people at Trolley Square and wounded four others before he was shot and killed by police.
Three months prior to the tragedy, Talovic purchased a Mossberg 88, which is a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun, from Sportsman's Fast Cash. Carolyn Tuft and her 15-year-old daughter, Kirsten Hinckley, were both shot by Talovic while shopping at Trolley Square. Kirsten was killed.
Tuft, represented by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, filed a civil suit against Rocky Mountain Enterprises and the pawnshop employee who sold the gun to Talovic, Westley Hill.
Under federal law, guns cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 21, with a few exceptions, one of them being shotguns. Talovic was 18 at the time.
There was some discussion as to whether the weapon used was a shotgun or a pistol grip firearm. Iwasaki ruled that the gun, in fact, "did not meet the definition of a shotgun."
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
