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WEST VALLEY CITY — Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Salt Lake man who was arrested in January in the shooting of a 14-year-old girl in the parking lot of Valley Fair Mall.
Andy Minh Vuong, 18, is charged in 3rd District Court with discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, a first-degree felony; three counts of discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony; and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 21, Shalece Brinkerhoff, 14, of West Valley City, was shot in what police initially called a "gang-related confrontation." A bullet was removed from her abdomen during surgery, court records state.
The girl received a call telling her to come to the parking lot of Costco, 3747 S. 2700 West, which is adjacent to the mall. When she arrived with friends just before 7:20 p.m, there was an altercation and shots were fired, one of which struck Shalece.
After Shalece was shot, she ran north through the mall parking lot where she eventually collapsed and was found by police.
According to charging documents, another juvenile had gotten into a "verbal altercation with another group over rival gang colors," one witness told investigators. Four shots were fired during the confrontation, and Vuong and three juveniles were seen fleeing after the shooting, the charges state.
Related:
14-year-old girl critically injured after being shot near West Valley mall
A 14-year-old girl was in critical condition Saturday after police say she was shot in a gang-related confrontation near the Valley Fair Mall.One witness told police that Vuong shot Shalece first, then handed the gun to one of the teens who fired two more times, according to charging documents.
Investigators served a warrant on the Facebook pages of some of the teens involved and found a conversation in which one juvenile claimed Shalece was shot because she was hanging out with a rival gang member, the charges state. The teen also claimed he got the gun from a member of his gang, according to charging documents.
Vuong is already on probation for a 2016 conviction of theft by receiving stolen property, according to court records.
All of the shooting charges are subject to gang enhancements at sentencing if convicted, according to court records.
