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SLC Police seek group of teen suspects after series of crimes involving shotgun

Posted at 5:05 PM, Jul 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-21 19:05:46-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Police in Salt Lake City are looking for a group of suspects involved in convenience store robberies and shootings this week, and their weapon of choice is giving cops cause for concern.

Salt Lake City Police are on high alert Friday after an incident Thursday night, where a random citizen driving down Redwood Road was shot at, with a shotgun, by a group of teenagers in another car.

This marks at least the third time this week a shotgun-toting group of teens has struck within the city.

"We've got people who have been shot, we are getting people shot at, this is a very dangerous situation,” said Det. Greg Wilking of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Late Tuesday night three suspects, one of whom had a shotgun, robbed the 7-Eleven at 1700 South and 500 East.

Later that night and across town, a man stumbled into a Maverik convenience store after being hit with a shotgun blast. He is expected to survive, but so far he is not cooperating with police.

Then Thursday night near 900 North and Redwood Road, a man driving with his wife and teenage son was suddenly approached by another vehicle, and someone inside of  that car opened fire with a shotgun.

The victim is a registered gun owner and returned fire, forcing the suspects to flee.

"Obviously this individual that was defending himself had a right to defend himself, so he is not facing any charges,” Wilking said of the incident.

Fortunately, no one was hit during this running gun battle.

"We're really concerned about that other party, because they brandished a shotgun, they fired that shotgun, and we have had way too many incidents recently involving individuals with a shotgun, so we are concerned about that and we need to get these people off the street,” Wilking said.

Police and gang detectives are out searching for the suspects, but unfortunately there's not a lot of information about them.

They are described as a group of younger Latinos, likely teenagers. The group consists of anywhere from two to six members. They have shown a willingness to use the shotgun, and that has police on edge.

If anyone out there has any information about the suspects, you are asked to call Salt Lake City Police at 801-799-3000.