UVU Soccer Player Arrested In BB Gun Shooting On BYU Campus

PROVO, Utah – A soccer player for Utah Valley University has been arrested in connection with the shooting of three people with a BB gun at BYU.

Officials with the BYU Police Department said the arrest was made Monday evening. The suspect was identified as 18-year-old James “Jamie” Dunning.

UVU officials confirmed Dunning a member of the UVU men’s soccer team.

According to the probable cause statement, Dunning and four other people were driving near Helaman Halls on the Brigham Young University campus Sunday just after 10 p.m.

When they drove past a small group of people, someone inside the vehicle fires a CO2 BB Gun pistol, striking three students, officials said.

Two of the students were hit in areas covered in clothes, and not seriously harmed.

The third was struck in the head above his ear, where the BB pellet penetrated the skin. He was transported to the hospital to have the pellet medically removed.

Officials said the driver was concerned someone may have been hit, and drove back to the area, where a group of people was gathered.

Investigators were able to track down each person in the vehicle for questioning.

“Each of the participants said that the gun was owned by James “Jamie” Dunning and that Dunning had been the one who fired the BB Gun at the victims through the open car window,” the probable cause statement said.

Officials said Dunning later agreed to turn himself in at the police station. They said he admitted to owning the BB Gun and shooting at several groups of people.

Dunning was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault and booked into the Utah County Jail.

The other four individuals in the SUV were not identified.

Dunning began his soccer career with the FC Dallas Academy in 2018 before being transferred to the Feyenoord U17 team in the Netherlands where he appeared in 13 matches.

After one season, he was sent to Sparta’s U19 squad in the Netherlands.

Dunning went nearly two months without a team before signing with Utah Valley’s 2020 class or recruits.

In 2019, UVU’s season started at the end of August. They have not played a game in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.