A 17-year-old boy was shot when he entered the condominium of a Salt Lake man and began destroying property.
About 10:50 p.m. Sunday, Randy Scheel, 35, was watching television when the boy entered his home in downtown Salt Lake City through a sliding glass door that was propped open with a fan, a Salt Lake police report said.Scheel told police the boy ripped the screen off the door and then entered the house. Scheel told the boy he was at the wrong apartment, but the teen continued to enter the condo and threw the fan at the kitchen table, the report said.
The boy, according to Scheel, was acting "spacey" and "out of it" which alarmed the homeowner. Scheel went into his bedroom and got a handgun. When he returned to the living room, he pointed the gun at the teen hoping he would leave, Scheel told police.
The boy was sitting in the chair that Scheel was sitting in when the teen entered the condo. Scheel dialed 911, which apparently angered the intruder because he grabbed the phone from Scheel, walked outside and threw the phone into the parking lot of the condominium complex, the report said.
While the intruder was outside, Scheel told police he locked the sliding glass door. The teen then broke the glass, the report said. Scheel said the intruder told him, "You've had it now, bro."
Scheel said he yelled at the boy to leave, but when he refused, he shot him in the shoulder.
Justin Austin, 17, West Valley City, was taken to University Medical Center in serious condition.