SANDY, Utah -- Sandy City Police now know what happened in the moments leading up to a shooting that killed a mother and her youngest son on Tuesday, and why a good Samaritan stepped in to help Memorez Rackley and her children.
On Friday, Sandy Police Sergeant Jason Nielsen said detectives interviewed the good Samaritan Thursday, a woman who has not been identified.
He said she told police she was in her vehicle near an LDS Church next to Brookwood Elementary School on Alta Canyon Drive with her children, when she saw Memorez fighting with Jeremy Patterson, the man who police said shot the family.
Friends and neighbors told Fox 13 previously that Memorez had been walking two of her three sons home from Brookwood: 11-year-old Myles and 6-year-old Jase.
Sgt. Nielsen said the woman pulled over to help Memorez and her children, and that Patterson took off in his truck and left the area.
"Memorez gets into the vehicle with her children, into the good Samaritan's vehicle," he explained. "They also leave the scene. They drive a few blocks west on Alta Canyon, when Jeremy locates them again and then rams the vehicle, and we know the rest from there."
He said the woman was with her children at the time, though he wasn't sure how many children.
A neighbor who helped in the aftermath said Wednesday that the good Samaritan was taking her two daughters and another girl home from school when she stopped to help. One of her daughters was shot, along with Myles. They both survived the shooting.
Family friend Sarah Weaver said Myles is awake but remains in intensive care.
"The Rackley family continues to be grateful for the support and love they are receiving from the community," she said. "Their 11-year-old son remains in ICU, is awake, improving and showing the family how strong, brave and resilient he is."
Family spokesman Jeff White said Myles is an inspiration to many.
"Myles' strength continues to inspire and amaze us," he said. "His condition continues to improve, and we are hopeful to have him breathing on his own without assistance before [the end of Friday]."
Police have a lot more to figure out in this investigation over the next few weeks, Sgt. Nielsen said, but he alluded to the fact that police are grateful the good Samaritan didn't just stand by when she saw Memorez and her children in trouble.
Other parents also jumped in, witnesses have said, and helped get the many school kids walking home away from the area during the shooting.
"The community stepped up, they got involved," he said. "They were able to save some lives."
Anyone who would like to help the victims’ family pay for funeral and memorial services is asked to send donations to the Rackley Memorial Fund at Mountain America Credit Union.
