- A 16-year-old was charged as an adult Friday with four counts of aggravated murder.
- The teen allegedly laughed when informed of one of the deaths, charges say.
- He is charged with killing an 8-month-old baby, a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and his alleged 18-year-old target.
SALT LAKE CITY — A 16-year-old boy was charged as an adult Friday with killing three people at the city's WestFest celebration last weekend.
But during the course of their investigation, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said it was "discovered that the 41-year-old woman who was killed was eight weeks pregnant at the time of her death."
Because of that, Matthiaz Centre Lauti Ioane-Register was charged with four counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, for each of the three people who were shot and killed, plus the fetus of the pregnant woman who was killed. The teen is also charged in 3rd District Court with nine counts of discharge of a firearm — five first-degree felonies, one second-degree felony, and three third-degree felonies.
Despite the tragic killings, when police took Ioane-Register into custody and informed him that an 18-year-old man — who they say was his intended target — had died, "Ioane-Register laughed and smiled. When asked what was funny about (Lugundi) dying, Ioane-Register said he just liked to laugh about things that are funny. When Ioane-Register was asked if he knew an 8-month-old baby died and a 41-year-old female died, he said he didn't know," according to charging documents.
On Sunday, Fnu Reena, 41, of West Jordan; Hassan Lugundi, 18, of West Valley City; and an 8-month-old boy were shot and killed while attending the WestFest carnival about 9:15 p.m. at Centennial Park, 5405 W. 3100 South. Police say the boy is not related to any of the victims.
A 17-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were also shot in the arms during the melee. They were treated at local hospitals and later released. Police believe Lugundi was the gunman's only intended target, and the other victims were innocent bystanders.
Police recovered 12 shell casings at the scene. Investigators say Ioane-Register fired his gun — which was reported as stolen out of Louisiana — "until the slide locked back prior to dropping it," the charges state.
(Matthiaz Centre Lauti) Ioane-Register then excitedly uttered, 'I'm gonna tell you guys right now, I know what I hit because I know where I was aiming, and I know where I was shooting. I did not hit no baby. It was only one person I hit.'
–3rd District Court charging documents
Police surrounded and detained Ioane-Register quickly, but not before others in the crowd had also started to focus their attention on him.
"Due to the high tense situation, (a West Valley police officer) assisted Ioane-Register up off the ground and walked him toward the entrance of the festival. Several individuals were attempting to get to Ioane-Register and yelling at him. Ioane-Register was taken to a small hidden area and (police) observed Ioane-Register looking around and smiling, several times," the charging documents say.
"Ioane-Register then excitedly uttered, 'I'm gonna tell you guys right now, I know what I hit because I know where I was aiming, and I know where I was shooting. I did not hit no baby. It was only one person I hit,'" he said, according to the charges. "Ioane-Register further stated, 'There was only one person I hit, there was one. … He was already over there on the ground, and I been hitting him. That was the only person I went for. No other bullets went flying elsewhere. There was only one direction. So there is no way I hit that baby.'"
But when police reviewed surveillance video, they said they could see shots continue to be fired even after Lugundi was on the ground. Even after Ioane-Register and his mother were shown video of the shooting, he told police "the guy with the gun was not him and that he found the gun on the ground. Ioane-Register's mother then told him that he could not lie; it was on camera. She then asked who they caught and who they arrested. She again asked him, 'Who is that on camera?' and Ioane-Register said it was not him," the charges state.
Related:
'This is not our West Valley City': City responds to WestFest shooting leaving 3 dead, 2 injured
An 8-month-old boy and 41-year-old woman were among the innocent bystanders who were shot and killed during West Valley's annual WestFest carnival on Sunday.An autopsy determined that Lugundi was shot five times while Reena and the 8-month-old — who was sitting in a stroller next to his twin sibling — were shot once in the head, according to the charges.
Gill says Ioane-Register is a known gang member and Lugundi was a friend of members of a rival gang. The district attorney could not say Friday whether the shooting was the result of a chance encounter or whether Ioane-Register went to WestFest looking for Lugundi.
"All the victims in this case were enjoying a night with family and friends at WestFest. Ioane-Register, who is 16 years old, took a gun to a family event and opened fire, killing the victim who he had targeted, plus a 41-year-old bystander who was 8 weeks pregnant, and an 8-month-old baby, and injuring two other minors. (He) has no regard for the lives or safety of others," prosecutors wrote in their court documents.
Although he was charged as an adult, Ioane-Register is not eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole under federal law if convicted. However, he potentially could be sentenced to a term of 25 years to life in prison on each of the four aggravated murder charges if convicted.
West Valley police say they also discovered that a police officer fired a shot during the incident. That shot did not hit anyone. A separate, independent investigation is being conducted into that shooting.
