Angry supervisor shoots employee at Salt Lake business, police say

Salt Lake police arrested a man after they say he shot one of his employees in the leg and also shot out the tires on the employee's vehicle.

Salt Lake police arrested a man after they say he shot one of his employees in the leg and also shot out the tires on the employee's vehicle. (Salt Lake police)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Police arrested a supervisor at a Salt Lake business Tuesday who they say shot one of his employees and the tires of the employee's vehicle.

Esekielu A. Tuigamala, 45, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, discharge of a firearm and criminal mischief.

Tuigamala is described in a police booking affidavit as "the victim's direct supervisor at work." About 7:30 p.m. Monday, Tuigamala allegedly got into an argument with the victim at their workplace, RLS Logistics, at 3190 W. Professional Circle. Tuigamala is listed as a cold storage equipment operator there.

"During that argument, (Tuigamala) can be seen on surveillance video walking to his vehicle and retrieving a firearm. (He) then attempted to go back into the business with the firearm in his hand, but someone had locked the door," according to the affidavit.

After being locked out of the workplace, police say Tuigamala went to the parking lot "and shot all four tires" of the vehicle that belonged to the man he was arguing with.

"While (Tuigamala) was outside shooting at the vehicle, he repeatedly called out to the victim to come outside," the affidavit states.

After he was arrested, Tuigamala admitted to police "that something bad would have happened" if the man had come outside at that time, according to the arresting officer. The man did eventually unlock the front door of the business to see what was happening, and was subsequently shot in the leg by Tuigamala, according to the affidavit.

"After being shot, the victim retreated back inside the business to get away from (Tuigamala). (He) followed him into the lobby of business," the affidavit states.

The victim's injury was not serious. Police say he was treated on scene by paramedics and released. Tuigamala was taken into custody and booked into jail.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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