WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- An employee at the food court at Valley Fair Mall was taken to a hospital in critical condition Saturday after being stabbed.
Sgt. Robert Brinton of the West Valley City Police Department said they were called to the mall's food court on a report of a fight and found a male victim who was stabbed between seven and nine times.
The incident occurred just before 5 p.m.
The victim was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition, and he is expected to survive. Police say the victim was working at the food court at the time and had been walking around with a sample tray.
Three suspects were taken into custody. One suspect was apprehended by an officer working security at the mall. The two other suspects fled the area but were taken into custody at a nearby apartment complex.
Police later identified those men as 18-year-old Stratford Jones, 20-year-old Kyler Cozad and 20-year-old Shawn Begay.
Brinton said it is unclear if the victim and the suspects knew each other prior to the stabbing or if this was a random attack, but he said it appears the assault may possibly be gang related.
The parties involved have not been identified. Fox 13 News will update this story as more details emerge.
