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13-year-old girl shot in the hand as Kearns home sprayed with gunfire

Posted at 3:08 PM, Jun 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-18 23:55:51-04

KEARNS, Utah -- Unified Police said a 13-year old girl is recovering after a barrage of bullets in a Kearns neighborhood left her in the line of fire.

Detectives are having a hard time figuring out what sparked the shooting.

Bullet holes puncture the glass, foundation and garage door at the house on Highwood Drive.

"That house, that location, had over a dozen bullet holes in front of it," said Lt. Lex Bell with UPD.

Crime scene tape sat crumpled on the ground, and a teen girl sat in the hospital, recovering.

“Bullets came in through the front, into walls, and maybe even all the way through the house,” Bell said.

Bell said around 3:15 a.m. Saturday, someone blasted the front of the house with gunfire. The 13-year old girl was sitting near the front window in the living room.

"That's where that girl was sitting on a couch that was hit in the hand,” Bell said.

He said the house was full of people at the time, there for a gathering or party. He said teens and adults were spread throughout the house.

"With the amount of people that were in that house, we're really lucky that it was only one individual that was hit in the hand,” Bell said.

At this point, police don’t know why this happened, or who’s behind it. Bell said the people who were in the house at the time have been telling police different stories. Authorities aren’t sure if it’s gang related.

"We don't even know for certain if it was a drive-by shooting, or if they were out on foot when they shot the house,” Bell said. “There's a lot for us to work on, on this one."

After undergoing surgery, Lt. Bell said the teen will be OK.

Anyone with information related to the shooting should call the Unified Police Department at 801-743-7000.