SALT LAKE CITY — A Millcreek man has been ordered to stand trial for murder after prosecutors say he pulled a gun during a party and shot another man.

Police say Ahmed Sharif-Mohamed Ali, 30, shot and killed Modibo Diallo, 33, of Murray, following an argument on Feb. 22, 2015.

Ali is charged with murder, a first-degree felony, while an additional charge was filed Thursday alleging felony discharge of a firearm, also a first-degree felony.

Third District Judge Vernice Trease bound Ali over on both charges Thursday. Arraignment has been scheduled for April 22.

Ahmed Abdullahi, 26, testified Thursday that he had known Ali through his family since he was a teenager. Ali came to live in the Millcreek house, 1509 E. 3350 South, with him and his brothers about a month before the shooting.

Though he saw Ali daily, he said the man "secluded himself from people." Diallo, too, was a regular visitor at the house. Abdullahi described Diallo, known as Debo, as one of his best friends.

On the night of the shooting, Abdullahi had stayed at the house with his girlfriend while others went out and then gathered upstairs. Abdullahi awoke around 2 a.m. to the woman saying someone had fired a gun, and opened his eyes to see Ali standing in front of them with Diallo lying at his feet.

"I saw him standing over the body with the gun, and he looked over at me and my girlfriend, it almost looked like he was going to shoot us," Abdullahi said.

Instead, Ali turned and fired again at Diallo, Abdullahi testified.

"He looked evil when he did it, he didn't look like he had any remorse," Abdullahi recalled. "He looked like he had just shot an animal or something."

Others rushed down the stairs, emotional, and Abdullahi and his brothers went after Ali, punching him and saying they would hold him until police arrived. But as their attention turned to Diallo, Ali broke free and fled.

Called to the witness stand by the defense, Mohamed Diallo, who was upstairs at the time of the shooting, recalled hearing the gunshots over the loud music and cries that his brother had been shot. He rushed downstairs and saw Ali standing over his brother with a gun.

"He was ready to finish him off," Mohamed Diallo said. "But I didn't pay attention to him, I went straight to my younger brother laying on the floor."

From his Navy training, Mohamed Diallo knew immediately that his brother would not survive his wounds. He spoke to him in their native dialect, asking if he was all right.

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Man charged with murder in Millcreek shooting case

A man who allegedly shot and killed another man while attending a party in the Millcreek area has been charged.

Modibo Diallo was shot once in the chest and once in the neck, with both shots causing extensive damage and massive bleeding, assistant medical examiner Julie Schrader testified.

While it was unclear which shot occurred first, Schrader said Modibo Diallo would have been dead within seconds of being struck in his chest.

The bullet struck "two of the body's most vital organs, the heart and the lungs, before becoming lodged in the spine," Schrader said. "This would have been a fatal injury."

Police tracked Ali down to a garage about three blocks away. Detectives at the time said he was randomly knocking on doors looking for a place to hide before breaking into a garage. Unified police's SWAT team surrounded the residence and Ali surrendered about three hours later.

After taking Ali into custody, Unified police detective Robert Scott said investigators turned to the scene of the shooting. There they found two .45-caliber hollow point shell casings, and a .45-caliber handgun was located wrapped in a cloth and tucked under the floor mat of a car at the house, where police believe one of the men in the house initially moved it. Ali's fingerprint was found on the gun.

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