SANDY — One man is dead and two others wounded — one paralyzed — following a shootout inside a garage Sunday.
On Monday, police announced they had arrested Alex Vasquez, 24, for investigation of murder.
The incident began about 10:45 p.m. Sunday when police were called to a house at 80 E. 8640 South on a report of shots fired, said Sandy Police Sgt. Jon Arnold. Officers arrived to find one person dead and two others with gunshot wounds.
"We're still trying to put together some of the pieces," Arnold said.
Simon Vasquez was shot in the neck and is now paralyzed, according to his family. His girlfriend, who was shot in the arm, was treated at a local hospital and later released.
The two were reportedly caught in the crossfire between two men, Arnold said. The shooting was between the victim — a man in his 20s whose name was not immediately available Monday pending notification of family members — and Alex Vasquez, who was picked up by Unified police officers in Midvale after the incident and brought to the Sandy Police Department for questioning.
Alex Vasquez is Simon Vasquez's nephew and reportedly lived part time in the house where the shooting occurred, Arnold said.
Detectives believe there was some type of gathering in the garage at the home. At least five people, possibly more, were in the garage when the shooting occurred. But investigators were receiving multiple differing accounts from witnesses about what led up to the gunfire, he said.
A motive for the shooting was not known Monday morning. "We're trying to put together the different versions," the sergeant said.
Based on witness accounts, between five and a dozen shots were fired, according to Arnold.
Other people also fled the garage after shots were fired Sunday night. Police continued to look for those witnesses Monday.
A gun was recovered in Midvale when Vasquez was picked up, Arnold said.
According to the Utah Department of Corrections, Vasquez was sentenced to the Utah State Prison in 2008 after being found guilty of two counts of unlawfully possessing a vehicle to commit a felony and escape from official custody. He was paroled in January of this year.
It was not immediately known Monday how all the people in the garage were acquainted with each other, he said. Some of them are believed to be family members of the people who owned the house.
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