MIDVALE, Utah — After a long weekend of investigation, detectives with the Unified Police Dept. now say they know what led up to a double shooting and murder last Friday in a very busy part of the valley.
READ: One dead, one injured in shooting near Midvale grocery store.
Detectives tell FOX 13 that the two people who were shot were actually fighting with each other and shot each other.
The woman died and the man is now heading back to prison.
The exchange of gunfire took place just before 6 p.m. in what’s now a very congested and populated part of Midvale -- right in between the Winco grocery store, a brand new motel, several fast food restaurants and Topgolf.
Detectives initially weren’t sure if it was a drive-by shooting or something of that nature, but now say it was a fight between 36-year-old Tyler Shirreff and 39-year-old Teresa Alires.
READ: Unified Police identify woman killed in Midvale shooting.
“What we’ve learned is, from witnesses and other people at the scene and other evidence that we’ve gathered is there was an attempted robbery where Teresa shot Tyler,” UPD Sgt. Melody Cutler said. “There was then a struggle over that gun and that’s when Teresa was shot.”
Alires died at the scene and Shirreff ran into the grocery store looking for help. Someone there applied a tourniquet and very well may have saved his life until first responders arrived.
Detectives quickly learned Shirreff was on parole then over the weekend pieced together what they say happened.
Initially, police were looking for a vehicle that may have been involved, but at this point it appears the people in the car were just witnesses.
Investigators say it's fortunate no one else was shot.
“There’s multiple apartment complexes and condominiums right in that area so a lot of people, at that hour on a Friday night, a lot of people around there and honestly we’re very lucky that no one else was injured in this incident," Sgt. Cutler said. “A stray bullet really could’ve hit anyone.”
