‘I could’ve been shot’; man left Kearns park minutes before shooting took place

KEARNS — Police were still searching for a shooter Monday after an argument at a party Sunday night turned violent. The shooter fled from the area, and police spent all night searching for him, Unified police said.

A man who lives near Oquirrh Park, Vinh Ngyen, said he had walked over from his home to play fetch with his dogs there on Sunday evening.

“I just use this street and walk and take a turn — a left turn here — and it leads me to the park,” he said. “I was there from 7:25 (or) 7:30.”

As the sun went down, Ngyen decided to head home. Minutes later, police said shots were fired at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the same park.

“I didn’t want to stay until 9,” Ngyen said. “Luckily, I missed it just by a pinch.”

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He said the park was busy — families and children were all around. He said this shooting is also not the first kind of criminal activity he has heard about in the area.

“Usually — every weekend night pretty much — there’s always an alarm, ‘Hey, have you heard of this gunshot? Have you heard of this noise?’ And, you know, kind of put a question in my head that, ‘Hey, is this area truly safe?’” Ngyen said. “And this kind of just tops it off.”

He said he will not be back at the park anytime soon.

“Scary. I don’t think I wanna go there right now if this happened like this,” he said. “I could’ve got shot.”

Police said they are still searching for the shooter and are asking for the public’s help — particularly the people in the area who may have camera footage of the park. Any information can be relayed to the Unified Police Department at 801-840-4000.