SALT LAKE CITY – Police are investigating after a man was found Saturday night in a Salt Lake City street with a fatal gunshot wound, and Sunday a doctor who lived nearby and rushed to help the man spoke with FOX 13 News about the incident.
Police responded to Parkway Avenue near 1140 East Saturday night after a person driving down the road noticed a person in the street. When they stopped to check on that man, the driver discovered the victim had been shot.
Doctor Kelly Butler was in his nearby home when he was called on to help.
"Just sitting in the house working, and someone knocked on the door and said that there was somebody shot,” he said. “Not a lot of blood really, because of where the gunshot was, but enough that you could tell something was going on.”
Butler said when he found him, the 24-year-old victim wasn’t conscious but was still breathing. There was a handgun next to the man.
“To do CPR I had to move the gun, and so I wrapped and picked it [up] with a towel to make sure I contaminated it as little as possible,” Butler said.
Police officials still aren’t sure how the man wound up in the middle of that street, but a trail of blood indicates the injured man walked a few blocks before he was found. Lt. Rich Brede, Salt Lake City Police Department, said they are investigating.
“We’ve been down to the east side of the block here, and we’ve seen blood trail and are still currently investigating that, looking for where it actually happened,” Brede said. “It appears this person was actually able to walk to this location.”
The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. As the investigation continues, neighbors in the area deal with mostly unanswered questions. No one reported hearing a single gun shot.
“Yeah, just all by himself, nothing,” Butler said. “Didn’t hear any noise, didn’t hear any yelling or screaming, no gunshots. For this neighborhood, absolutely it’s unusual.”
The victim’s identity has not been released, but police said he is 24 and is not from Salt Lake City.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Salt Lake City Police Department.
