Teen shot by police in Utah

Crowd confronts officers after boy with metal stick wounded

SALT LAKE CITY — A 17- year- old boy who authorities say was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured by Salt Lake City officers Saturday night, touching off unrest downtown as officers donned riot gear and blocked streets, and bystanders threw rocks and bottles.

The teen shot by two Salt Lake City Police officers was in critical condition at a hospital Sunday after being struck twice in the torso, said detective Ken Hansen with the Unified Police Department, which is investigating the shooting.

Police wouldn’t identify the boy Sunday afternoon because he is a minor.

In a statement, the department said two Salt Lake City officers were trying to break up a fight about 8 p. m. where the teenager and another male were hitting a third male with metal objects.

The officers ordered the males to drop the metal, “sticklike objects,” and one male complied.

The teenager did not drop the stick and instead moved toward the victim in a threatening manner, Salt Lake City police detective Greg Wilking said.

One or both of the officers then shot the teen, hitting him in the upper and lower torso, Hansen said.

Police said earlier Sunday that the teenager was shot when he tried to attack one of the officers.

Wilking said Sunday afternoon that investigators were still trying to determine if that was the case.

He said they had not yet interviewed the officers involved.

Police did not release the identities of the other two males involved or whether they were also minors. The male who was hit with the sticks did not require medical attention, Wilking said.

He also did not know what happened to the other male who had been wielding a stick or whether investigators spoke with him.

Neither officer involved in the shooting was injured, Wilking said.

Police would not release the identity of the officers but said Sunday that both were placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

The officers both were wearing body cameras, but police said Sunday that they will not release the footage because of the ongoing investigation and the possibility that the teenager depicted could face charges.

Police did not have details about what prompted the fight in the street, which was near a downtown homeless shelter, shopping mall and movie theater.

Bystander Selam Mohammad told The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News that his teenage friend was shot as he turned around.

“He barely even turned around, then boom, boom, boom — and he just dropped,” Mohammad told Deseret News.

When asked about that account, Hansen said he did not have details to confirm or deny that information.

After the shooting, bystanders yelled obscenities and threw rocks and bottles at police, who called in about 100 officers to help.

Police, including officers wearing helmets and carrying riot shields, barricaded four surrounding city blocks.

A light- rail stop in the neighborhood was closed.

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said in a statement Sunday that she was saddened and that the shooting was a tragedy for everyone involved.

“The use of force by law enforcement against the public can tear at the delicate balance of trust between both sides, and must be taken extremely seriously,” she said.

“These incidents create a number of unanswered questions in the short term, and justice requires we work together in good faith to find answers.”