Two dead in separate overnight shootings in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — Two people were killed in separate overnight shootings in Salt Lake City, police said early Saturday just 18 minutes apart.

Watch police conduct a briefing on nighttime shootings below:

Police briefing on nighttime shootings

Salt Lake City police said the first shooting occurred at 1045 East 2100 South in the Sugar House neighborhood,

The second took place at 825 South Park Street, just north of Liberty Park.

During the first shooting just before 11:45 p.m., an argument between several people led to a 26-year-old man shooting a 38-year-old man. Another man then grabbed the 26-year-old’s gun and shot him, killing the man on the spot.

The 38-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical but stable condition, while the other gunman and other individuals were detained by police.

SLC second scene — Police seen in area near Liberty Park when a person was shot and a man with the victim refused to come out of an apartment.

The second scene involved a shooting outside an apartment between two people. The victim, a 21-year-old man, was shot and died at the scene, while the person with the victim entered the home and refused to come out.

SWAT team and crisis negotiators responded, with the 53-year-old man later found dead in the apartment.

Police spokesman Brent Weisberg said what happened overnight is very rare for the city, adding that before the shootings, homicides in Salt Lake City had dropped 40 percent this year from the same point in 2023.

“I’ve spoken to several people within our police department,” Weisberg said. “Nobody in recent memory can immediately recall that we’ve had two murders almost back-to-back.”