CRIME
Police: 2-year-old was shot by a Tooele man not allowed to have guns
Mar 20, 2023, 5:09 PM | Updated: 6:07 pm
File photo
TOOELE, Utah — A 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the leg in Tooele over the weekend.
As police investigated the incident, they said they discovered the man who shot the toddler may have been intoxicated and had multiple guns and drugs in his home despite not being allowed to possess firearms.
Kurt Anthony Mora, 58, of Tooele, was arrested Sunday and charged Monday in 3rd District Court with five counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and drug possession with intent to distribute, third-degree felonies; plus possession of drug paraphernalia and reckless endangerment, class A misdemeanors.
At approximately 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police say Mora was at a neighbor’s house and the neighbor was showing a handgun to Mora.
“As Kurt Mora took possession of the gun, it went off, hitting the 2-year-old victim,” according to a police booking affidavit. “A witness stated that Kurt Mora may have also been intoxicated during the incident, and I could smell the odor of alcohol on Kurt Mora’s breath.”
The boy was treated at a local hospital for a gunshot wound to his leg and, according to Tooele police, was “stable” by Sunday night.
As police questioned Mora, he admitted having guns in his own home — even though he is not allowed to possess them because of his criminal record, police said. Officers then obtained a search warrant for Mora’s home.
“Officers found five firearms with ammunition set around the house in dresser drawers and closets. Over a dozen individual zip-lock bags for distribution containing marijuana, a powdery white substance,” and a plastic bag that had “mushrooms” written on it were also found along with other drug paraphernalia and THC products, the affidavit alleges.
Police noted that “Kurt Mora has been convicted multiple times in the past” and has “a history of drinking and this incident supports conditions for continued detention.” Most recently, Mora was convicted of DUI in 2021 and placed on two years of probation, which ended in January, according to court records.
