Witness recounts details from likely gang-related car crash and shooting

HERRIMAN — Police arrested a man for aggravated assault and weapons charges after a shooting and car accident was reported at the Emerson Apartments in Herriman Sunday night.

Witnesses of a car crash turned shooting told KSL TV what they heard and saw overnight that police believe is gang-related.

“It was pretty crazy hearing the gunshots right below the window, and seeing the white car peel off from the scene, thinking, well, that’s probably the people involved in it,” said one witness who asked to be anonymous.

This witness said he called 911 when he walked out to find a black car had crashed into a fence surrounding the apartment complex pool.

He didn’t see which car the shots came from.

“I just saw the one person running in the black hoodie and three girls came up to the car window after the gunshots and looked in the car and screamed.”

He said when police arrived about 15 minutes later, he saw them mark shell casings on the ground, but no one seemed to be in the car.

“I talked to a police officer, told him they left on foot, running west from the car, and they took the K-9 and started looking for the suspect,” the witness said.

According to a probable cause statement, a man and woman told police they were inside the black crashed car. They said 19-year-old Alejandro Palmar Romero was in the car with them when they were shot at.

Officers found him in the complex.

“I think everybody was pretty shaken up,” a witness said.

Romero was one of several people detained. Documents link him to another incident in nearby Riverton. The driver and passenger in a car there say Romero shot at them.

The passenger was wounded in his shoulder, although it’s unclear whether that was a bullet wound or caused by shrapnel, police said.

In a press release, Herriman police said several people were detained. They wrote, “The detained individuals gave conflicting statements regarding the sequence of events.”

Several neighbors told KSL they’re not comfortable sharing their identity because police say this is gang-related.

“In areas where the gangs are more prevalent, people don’t talk,” a witness said. “People don’t say anything. That’s for a reason because people end up hurt.”

People who live in the complex said they don’t see incidents like this in the area, though they have seen more concerning incidents within the last year.

“Hopefully it’s not the start of what’s going to be more around here,” they said. “Hopefully it was just people in cars and ended up in this area, shooting.”

It was not immediately clear what caused Romero’s car to crash, but police seized both vehicles involved

Romero told police he was being chased by people he didn’t know. He said they crashed into the back of the car he was in, sending them into the fence. He said he didn’t know who fired the shots.

Police wrote they believe he would likely flee if he were released because he is not here legally. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.