Woman Shot In Head In Drive-By While At Home On Couch
Jul 11, 2018, 12:36 AM
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – A Salt Lake County woman was on life support after bullets ripped through her living room window and struck her while she was sitting on the couch.
“She was sitting there,” said the victim’s niece, Samantha Skillingstad. “She had just finished planning a baby shower for her daughter, and then chaos broke out.”
The 48-year-old victim was taken to Intermountain Medical Center around 6 p.m. Tuesday night.
Skillingstad told KSL the bullet struck her aunt in the head, and doctors did not expect her to survive.
“We are making sure all the shell casings are accounted for. We continue to investigate the details of this drive-by shooting,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
Investigators with the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake did not have a motive for the shooting.
They responded to the area of 4900 South and 1950 West in Taylorsville shortly after receiving a 911 call that shots had been fired into a home.
Authorities said the shooter was in a black car, but they didn’t have a suspect description or any leads.
“This person is a danger to society,” Sheriff Rivera said. “This is really concerning. Especially when so many children are in the area.”
The crime scene was directly across the street from Vista Park – a park that hosts hundreds of families coming to watch baseball and softball games.
Jessica Sisneros, age 14, was warming up her pitching arm when she heard the gunshots.
“I was practicing, and I heard six gunshots. At first, I thought they were fireworks,” Sisneros said. “When I realized it was gunfire, I didn’t feel very safe.”
Softball player Kayla Nicoll also saw the commotion.
“I’m at this park as often as three times a week,” Nicoll said. “I was pretty shocked when I saw the cop lights because this doesn’t usually happen.”
Detectives were combing over the crime scene for six hours Tuesday night.
“She was everyone’s favorite aunt,” Skillingstad said. “She was not the intended target. She has a 13-year-old daughter who is absolutely devastated.”
If you know any information about this shooting, call Unified Police at 801-743-7000.
