Estimated read time: 3-4 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
TAYLORSVILLE — A 2-year-old girl missed being shot by inches early Friday after police say two men fired multiple bullets into a house while circling it.
"They shot a whole bunch of rounds into the house as they walked around the house. Started in the backyard, went to the side and around to the front," said Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell. "The 2-year-old was actually in her bed and a bullet passed through her headboard, missed her by probably less than 3 inches."
The two men believed to be responsible for the shooting are also suspected of having shot multiple vehicles parked in Millcreek at random after the Taylorsville incident, Bell said. The two were arrested after a chase with police that ended in Salt Lake City.
The incident began about 4:30 a.m. when two men, ages 20 and 23, pulled up to a house near 4800 South and 3500 West, walked into the yard and opened fire, Bell said.
"It was more than your average drive-by spray. They walked up to the house and shot into it," he said.
It was not immediately known how many shots were fired. As of Friday morning, police did not have a motive for the shooting.
"(The family's) statement is that they have no idea why this would have happened to them," the lieutenant said.
Three adults and four children — ages 13, 9, 3 and 2 — were inside at the time. Bell said "miraculously" no one was injured.
No one from inside the house called 911, he said. It was neighbors who alerted police. When officers arrived, Bell said the occupants initially didn't answer the door and were hesitant to let officers inside.
"They said they had just been hiding and that's why they didn't call police. They said they were scared," he said.
Neighbors reported seeing a white, older-model wagon-style car, like a Subaru, with a "loud muffler" leaving the area.
About 20 minutes later, police received a call from a Millcreek resident saying his car had been shot at. The man was not inside his car at the time.
That incident happened just a few blocks away from the Unified Police Department's Millcreek substation, 1580 E. 3900 South. A sergeant and another officer heard the shot.
"They drove toward the shot and the sergeant observed a white car, wagon-style, with a loud muffler. And when he turned around to follow it, the car fled," Bell said.
The ensuing chase reached speeds of 80 mph as it went through the Millcreek area. But because the officers "felt confident" that these were the shooting suspects, they continued to pursue, Bell said.
Near 3600 South and 900 East, the officers observed a gun being thrown out the window of the fleeing vehicle, he said. That gun was recovered by investigators.
At 3300 South and Highland Drive, police successfully spiked at least one of the fleeing vehicle's tires. The car, however, continued into Salt Lake City. At 800 South and 900 East, the pursuing sergeant performed a PIT manuever, bumping the rear panel of the car, causing it to spin out. Pursuing officers quickly boxed in the vehicle before it could move again, and both men inside were arrested without further incident, Bell said.
By the time the chase ended, sparks were coming from the front driver's side wheel.
"That tire was completely gone. There was no rubber left," Bell said.
Inside the vehicle, police spotted a bulletproof vest, a .45 shell casing in the driver's seat and a gun magazine in the passenger seat, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
A second gun was found lying in a yard at 1000 E. Millcreek Way (3510 South).
Police also received calls Friday morning of car windows being shot out in the Millcreek area. Investigators believe the two men, after shooting the Taylorsville house, may have randomly shot out car windows in Millcreek, Bell said.
Joseph Villagrana, 20, and Luiz Miguel Valadez, 23, were booked into jail for investigation of felony discharge of a firearm.
