Man arrested in connection to SLC shooting that killed 29-year-old woman
Nov 22, 2022, 8:10 AM | Updated: May 21, 2023, 4:30 pm
Nicole Olsen, 29, who was shot and killed in a suspected homicide. (Courtesy: GoFundMe)
(Courtesy: GoFundMe)
SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of shooting and killing a 29-year-old Utah mother over the weekend has been arrested.
Officials with the Salt Lake City Police Department said Dustin Pedersen, 37, was taken into custody in Kane County Monday night and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on one count of murder.
The investigation started at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday after Salt Lake City police responded to a shooting near 300 W. South Temple.
Investigators said the victim, identified Monday as Nichole Olsen, spent part of her evening at a downtown SLC nightclub with her boyfriend.
“At some point, a group of people – including Pedersen – got into an argument with Olsen’s boyfriend,” police said. “Security asked Pedersen and his friend to leave the nightclub. Olsen and her boyfriend remained inside the nightclub until it closed.”
The groups then ran into each other in a parking lot near 300 W. South Temple. A second argument ensued, and later turned into a physical fight between Pedersen’s friend and Olsen’s boyfriend, investigators said.
“The argument escalated and resulted in the suspect pulling out a gun and shooting the victim,” police said in a statement issued Sunday.
Police said the driver of a dark-colored BMW, later determined to be Pedersen, kept reaching into his waistband during the fight.
After the shooting, Pedersen and his friend got into the BMW and left.
Investigators said someone put Olsen in a car and drove to the University of Utah Hospital. Emergency crews rendered first aid, but Olsen was pronounced dead at the hospital.
On Monday, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office reported Pedersen wanted to turn himself in and was driving a BMW that matched the description of the vehicle that left the scene of the shooting.
SLC detectives say they used surveillance video from the scene and confirmed Pedersen had recently purchased a dark-colored BMW.
According to Kane County deputies, Pedersen said he fired a single round from his gun to scare people off during the fight inside the parking lot.
Deputies also secured the gun Pedersen had in his trunk that he reported was used in the shooting.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe* to raise money for Olsen’s funeral and posted a picture of her with her son, Santino.
“Our hearts are truly saddened by this sudden and unexpected loss of Nikki. Our family is grieving, and we are not prepared for the high cost of a funeral service. We want to give Santino the memorial his mommy deserves, to honor her memory and say our last goodbyes,” the fundraiser states.
*KSL TV 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.
