‘Highly unusual’ shooting in Riverton kills 19-year-old man

RIVERTON — A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in a neighborhood, according to the Riverton Police Department. Police said the circumstances surrounding the shooting were “highly unusual.”

Public Information Officer Josh Lee said dispatch sent officers to the Monarch Meadows neighborhood in Riverton just before midnight on Sunday. Police arrived to find the victim who had been shot multiple times. He was wearing a bulletproof Kevlar vest and had a handgun and a machete with him.

The victim was taken to the hospital by medical personnel and was declared dead when they arrived.

“This is highly unusual, I’ve personally never seen this before,” he said. “Detectives are trying to figure that out, first and foremost — why somebody had a Kevlar vest, a handgun and a machete and now is dead.”

Lee said investigators at the scene went around questioning witnesses, looking for camera footage and located a jacket that had an ID inside. The ID was linked to an address in Orem.

Riverton police obtained a warrant and worked with Orem officers to enter the house. There were two men inside, 20 and 24 years old, who were taken into custody and were being questioned Monday morning, Lee said. No charges had been filed as of Monday.

Lee said authorities were searching for the victim’s next of kin to notify them before they would release the name of the victim.