Resident shoots, kills intruder in Midvale apartment break-in
As many as 10 storm Midvale home; one man is killed.
By Jason Bergreen And Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
Midvale » A home invasion ended in a deadly spray of bullets early Tuesday when a Midvale man wrested a gun from one of the intruders and opened fire on them.
As many as 10 people were waiting outside an apartment near 1000 East and Watercress Lane (6995 South) when a 26-year-old answered a knock on the door about 1:30 a.m., said Midvale police Sgt. John Salazar. Wielding guns and knives, they pushed their way into the apartment, fighting the man and stabbing him in the hand, Salazar said. The man fled the apartment, followed by several assailants.
Still inside were the man's two nieces, 14 and 22, and the 22-year-old's boyfriend. One of the intruders hit the older sister, angering her boyfriend, Salazar said.
The boyfriend, 23, fought with the man and took hold of his gun.
He began shooting in the apartment, hitting another intruder. The heavily tattooed 31-year-old man, carrying two knives and a gun, was shot three times, Salazar said. He died in the apartment as the other attackers fled.
"I heard the screaming and I heard the gunshots," said neighbor Arun Sayam.
At least four shots were fired inside the apartment and at least three more outside. Investigators say one of the bullets also struck a female attacker, leaving a trail of blood outside.
Salazar said none of the bullets fired entered any of the surrounding apartments at the Springs of the Country Woods complex.
"I'm amazed that no one else was hurt," he said.
David Sandford, who lives in a second-story apartment just yards from where the shooting occurred, said he was listening to the television and reading a book when he heard five shots.
Sandford went to his bedroom and grabbed his gun for protection.
"I just wasn't sure what was going on," he said.
Sandford then went to his balcony and saw several people run south and one person run north.
Sandford, who has lived at the complex for about a year, called the attack "kind of disturbing."
Other witnesses, some huddled behind a trash bin in the parking lot, told police one of the attackers ran into a downstairs garage. Police used an explosive to force their way in but didn't find anyone.
Later, investigators recovered a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun and a .40-caliber handgun that had been tossed onto the roof of a nearby carport.
Police on Tuesday were still trying to determine a motive for the attack and confirm the identity of the man who was killed.
No arrests have been made.
