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Samantha Hayes and Tonya Papanikolas reportingA good time at a dance club ended in an early morning shooting.
It happened at Club Vortex around 2 a.m. as the club was shutting down and everyone was leaving.
Police say, "What lead to the altercation and the assault with the gun, we have no idea." But, they say they have a good idea who did it.
The shooting happened in the parking lot east of the Sheraton at 450 S. West Temple. Police say a large group of people had just left the Vortex club and were in that parking lot when the fight started and someone pulled a gun.
Police say they don't know what the fight was over, but one of the young men whipped out a 9mm gun and fired at least two shots, hitting a 19-year-old in the head.
Police say both the victim and the suspect know each other. So do dozens of people who were standing in the parking lot at the time of the shooting. Some of the people stayed with the victim, but many of them tried to drive off when police arrived. They were stopped and questioned.
Lt. Rick Findlay, Salt Lake Police Department: "We've got several leads as far as a possible suspect goes. This occurred probably in front of a group of 60 or 80 onlookers, so we've got several witnesses that we're interviewing, some that are acquainted with both parties in the altercation."
The scene was very tense. As our photographer was shooting video, kids yelled obscenities at him and even knocked his camera.
Police did put handcuffs on a few witnesses as they talked to them, but no one was arrested.
The man who was shot was rushed to LDS Hospital in critical condition. Police say they learned he is stable now with injuries only to his face.
Many people at the scene say they know the suspect. He was wearing a blue and gold striped shirt in the club, and drove off in a gold Oldsmobile Alero with no license plates. Police say he is in his mid-twenties and Hispanic.
Officers are confident they can track him down and hope to arrest him soon.
A lieutenant on the scene told us that police respond to calls near the Vortex almost every Thursday morning as Ladies' Night is ending. This incident did not appear to be gang-related.
