3 wounded in shooting outside Salt Lake City concert venue

Police in Utah’s capital say three people were wounded in a shooting outside a downtown concert venue

November 23, 2019, 2:21 PM

2 min read

Three people were wounded in a shooting outside a downtown concert venue in Utah’s capital, not far from the unrelated Friday night evacuation of an NBA arena, police said.

The shots were fired shortly after 10 p.m. from a car as the three left The Complex, Salt Lake City police Lt. Carlos Valencia said. He said two victims were friends in their early 20s. One was shot in the chest, the other in the forearm.

The third victim was a juvenile who was hit in the foot by a ricochet. It’s unclear whether the juvenile knew the other two victims, as all three were not cooperating with police as of Saturday morning, Valencia told The Associated Press.

They are all expected to survive.

Valencia initially told news outlets that one of the three victims fired back at the car, which then left the scene. He told the AP on Saturday morning that witness testimony was inconsistent and no weapons were found on the victims. It’s unclear who shot at the car.

The two adult shooting victims got into a verbal confrontation inside the venue, Valencia said, but it’s unclear whether that was connected to the shooting. He wasn’t sure of the timeline either.

No arrests had been made as of Saturday morning.

Los Angeles rap group Shoreline Mafia performed there Friday night. Emails to The Complex and the group’s booking agent and record label seeking comment were sent.

A half hour before the shooting, Vivint Smart Home Arena was evacuated because of a suspicious package found after the Utah Jazz’s victory over the Golden State Warriors.

A package that looked like shoebox was found at an arena restaurant. It turned out to be a toolbox. Employees were cleared to enter the building a couple of hours after the evacuation. Police said the incidents at the venues around two blocks apart were unrelated.

The Complex bills itself as “Salt Lake City’s live music and entertainment headquarters,” with four separate venues.

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This story has been corrected to report the suspicious package was identified as a toolbox, not a shoebox as initially believed.

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Associated Press reporter Mallika Sen contributed from New York.

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