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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah veterinarian died after he was shot Saturday evening at an Albuquerque brewery, according to police and news reports from the area.
Cody Guy Wrathall, 43, died Saturday following a shooting at the Nexus Brewery, 4730 Pan American Freeway, according to a statement from Albuquerque Police Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos.
Officers were dispatched about 8 p.m. Saturday to a shooting at the brewery, where they found a man with gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Gallegos. The man, later identified as Wrathall, was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he later died from his injuries, Gallegos said.
Police on Saturday were working to collect surveillance from the area to assist with the shooting investigation, according to Gallegos.
Authorities had released few other details about the shooting as of Tuesday; however, news reports from the area indicate that Wrathall may have been shot by an off-duty FBI agent.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that Wrathall had allegedly followed a woman into the Nexus Brewery Saturday while carrying a gun. The shooting ensued shortly after, with the FBI agent shooting Wrathall while the bar was full of people, the Journal reported.
Two Utah veterinary licenses for Wrathall are still listed as active in Saratoga Springs, according to Utah Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing records. He has been licensed as a veterinarian in the state of Utah since at least 2002, according to DOPL records.
Wrathall was most recently listed as a staff veterinarian for South Jordan-based South Valley Equine. The staff page for that practice indicates that Wrathall graduated from Utah State University in 1998 and previously worked for veterinary practices in Spanish Fork and Payson.
It’s not clear exactly where Wrathall was living in Utah at the time of his death.
Several social media posts mourned Wrathall and remembered him as a kind man and skilled veterinarian.
“The man I knew was gentle and kind and took great care of our Alpacas when he practiced in Utah County,” one woman wrote on Facebook.
Another woman added that Wrathall was “one of the best.”
“I will forever be grateful for your kindness and compassion,” she said.
A DOPL citation issued in 2018 indicates that Wrathall's veterinary license was publicly reprimanded after he acquired ketamine and valium from a former veterinary practice that had been dissolved the year before.
He was using the drugs in an attempt to treat himself for depression and anxiety, though he did not have a valid prescription for the drugs, according to the citation.
Contributing: Lauren Bennett, KSL.com
