Salt Lake City police shoot teen, face rock throwers

Salt Lake City — A 17-yearold 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 teenager shot by two Salt Lake City Police officers was in critical condition at a local hospital Sunday after being struck twice in the torso, according to Detective Ken Hansen with the Unified Police Department, which is investigating the shooting.

Salt Lake City Police declined to 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 around 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, “stick- like 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 police officers then shot the teen.

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.

Wilking did not have details about how far away the teenager was from officers or the victim when police shot him.

He also did not have details about how long the sticks were or where the males got the metal. Police said earlier Sunday that the boy had been wielding a broomstick.

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