Teenager shot in parking lot at West High School, police search for suspect
Nov 7, 2024, 8:27 PM | Updated: 10:29 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — A fight involving a group of teenagers resulted in one being shot and sent to the hospital Thursday afternoon.
The Salt Lake City Police Department said the 15-year-old boy arrived at a local hospital at 2:02 p.m. with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
Police determined that at 12:15 p.m., a group of teenagers gathered in a West High School parking lot. Police believe the teens knew each other and appeared to be “involved in an ongoing conflict.”
“At some point, someone discharged a firearm, and a bullet struck the 15-year-old,” police said in a press release. “Immediately after, everyone left the parking lot in various directions, including the 15-year-old.”
We are investigating a shooting that injured a 15-year-old male in the parking lot of West High School.
We are working with school officials to gather evidence and identify those involved, while also increasing patrols.
Link: https://t.co/9uvawlNatq#SLC #SLCPD #SaltLakeCity pic.twitter.com/AVJmVM1uOM
— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) November 8, 2024
Police said the boy returned home, and a family member drove him to the hospital. Hospital staff called police and reported that the boy was hurt.
“Throughout the afternoon and evening, the department has been working closely with the school district and detectives to ensure as much information about this case could be released as soon as possible once analyzed and verified,” the press release stated.
Dectivives believe the shooting is an isolated incident between the teenagers and might be gang-related, but do not think there is a threat to the school or its students. However, SLCPD will have extra patrols near the school on Friday.
SLCPD reported that despite several witnesses, no one called 911 when the shooting happened. A spokesman for the department, Brent Weisberg, said it’s very concerning that no one did.
“Had we known about this, they circumstances and the response would have been greatly different. There would have been a massive police to this high school had we known about a shooting that happened on property,” Weisberg said.
West High School sent a letter to parents saying its administrators did not know about the shooting for several hours.
“West High School administrators became aware of the incident several hours later. Because the school did not receive notification when the incident occurred, the school was not placed on secure alert,” stated the school letter.
Dectivives are asking anyone with information about this shooting to call 801-799-3000 and ask to speak with a police officer.
