Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A Utah man survived being shot 14 times at a West Valley party last month.
- His mother, Grethel Garcia-Vega, calls his recovery a "walking miracle."
- Suspect Osue Valentin-Alarcon, with a violent history, faces multiple felony charges.
MAGNA — A Utah mother is speaking out about her son's unlikely recovery from a shooting.
Grethel Garcia-Vega's son, Abraham, was shot 14 times at a party last month at 3038 S. Timeron Drive in West Valley City. Another man was also shot.
Prosecutors said it was "pure luck" neither victim was killed, but Garcia-Vega believes it was something higher than that. When she first learned her son was shot, she prayed.
"I told God: 'It's up to you. If you want to take him, take him. If you want to leave him, leave him. But leave him so he could be like a witness … that you exist,'" Garcia-Vega said.
With her son now recovering from his injuries at home in Magna, she added, "he's a walking miracle."
Harrowing ordeal
Garcia-Vega said her 22-year-old son, Abraham, who asked KSL TV not to identify him by his full name or show his face for fear of retaliation, was at a family get-together on March 23 near 3000 S. Timeron Drive.
Osue Valentin-Alarcon, 24, the cousin of Abraham's girlfriend, was also there.
"They were all drinking," Garcia-Vega said, "and the guy got aggressive and started fighting, and my son started fighting with him as well."
Prosecutors said another man tried to break up the argument, but Valentin-Alarcon pulled out a gun and shot both men. During the ordeal, prosecutors said Valentin-Alarcon followed Abraham and "kept shooting."
At one point, according to prosecutors, Valentin-Alarcon even "came over to (Abraham) and asked him if he was "good" before shooting him again in the stomach.
Garcia-Vega wept as she described her feelings about what happened.
"That's a crazy person," she said. "It's like, why?"
She was initially told her son was shot twice, but once she got to the hospital, Garcia-Vega spoke to a nurse and learned the truth. "She was like, 'No, your son got shot 14 times,'" Garcia-Vega remembered. "I couldn't believe it, and the first thing that she said was, like, just pray."
Garcia-Vega did that.
History of violent crime
Valentin-Alarcon is in the Salt Lake County Jail, charged with three felonies, including discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
The suspect has a history of violent crime. He was convicted in 2020 of felony aggravated assault in a domestic violence incident that happened in front of a child, according to court records.
In 2019, Valentin-Alarcon was convicted of a felony charge of possessing a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
A past progress report from Utah Adult Probation and Parole described Valentin-Alarcon's criminal history as "high" and noted he "performed terribly while on probation and has been in and out of jail the entire time."
Valentin-Alarcon was arrested again in February 2023 on a weapons charge and was eventually incarcerated in a federal prison in Colorado. He was released in June 2024, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
According to Utah court records, Valentin-Alarcon is currently on a no-bail hold and is due in court May 12 for a detention hearing.
"I want him to pay. I want him to stay in jail to complete his sentence (and) get help," Garcia-Vega said. "I don't hate him because, thank God, my son is alive, but I don't want him out in the streets where he could do this to anybody else."
Garcia-Vega said her son is not a gang member but is a father of two children and can't work for a while. Meanwhile, they are facing mounting medical bills from this ordeal. A GoFundMe* has been set up to help raise money for Abraham and his family.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
