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KEARNS — A 15-year-old male was shot and killed Saturday morning in Kearns, police said.
Police responded to a neighbor's reports of a commotion at 5155 Alex St. at 1:11 a.m., according to Unified police detective Kevin Mallory. As officials were en route, they received additional information that someone may have been shot.
Upon arrival, Mallory said firefighters "attempted to perform lifesaving measures" on the teen, but were unsuccessful.
According to a police statement, the victim suffered one gunshot wound to his upper torso.
"There were a handful of other people inside the home, probably five to six or so," Mallory said. "They were taken into custody, interviewed and questioned. At the conclusion of that, we believe we have the individual responsible for the shooting in custody."
Kaden Christiansen, 18, admitted to accidentally shooting the victim, according to the police statement. He told police he was mimicking a police officer and pretending to arrest the victim, while doing so, he shot the victim in the back. Christiansen said he thought the firearm was on safety and unloaded, stating he had taken the magazine out.
Christiansen told police he smoked about 1-2 grams of marijuana before the shooting, according to the statement.
Police said Christiansen was booked into jail on suspicion of manslaughter.
The identity of the teen killed has not been released.
Contributing: Jen Riess, KSL.com
