TAYLORSVILLE — A man shot and injured by an off-duty Utah Highway Patrol trooper inside a Utah State Liquor store has been formally placed under arrest.
Tyler Traveon Mhaka, 23, was arrested for investigation of three counts of shooting a gun and causing serious injury and an additional four counts of firing a gun. All counts come with potential road-rage penalty enhancements.
Thursday afternoon, witnesses say Mhaka drove his vehicle into the parking lot of a Utah State Liquor Store, 4455 S. 2700 West, "at a high rate of speed, colliding with a bollard, exiting his vehicle and firing a handgun at another male who was walking into the store," according to a police booking affidavit.
Mhaka chased the victim into the store while continuing to shoot. He fired a total of seven rounds, hitting the victim three times, the affidavit states.
An off-duty Utah Highway Patrol trooper happened to be in the store at the time and returned fire.
Mhaka was arrested by other officers in the parking lot of the liquor store and taken to a local hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound. He remained "under guard by law enforcement" at the hospital as of the time of his arrest, according to the affidavit.
The man allegedly shot by Mhaka was also taken to a local hospital and was at last word "stable."
Investigators requested that he be held without bail. "(Mhaka) fired seven rounds from a firearm while chasing the male into an open place of business while other customers were inside, firing as he entered with no regard for the lives of those inside the store," the affidavit alleges.
The liquor store will be closed until at least March 9, and possibly longer, for cleanup and repairs.
