KEARNS — Police say they were just inches away from investigating a tragic shooting in Kearns.
“We’re awfully damn lucky we’re not investigating the death of a 6-year-old,” said Unified Police Lt. Manfred Lassig.
Just after midnight on Friday, people were arguing in a house near 5300 W. Westlope Drive (5400 South) when a shot was fired, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray. The shot went through the wall of their house and into the bedroom of a 6-year-old girl next door.
The bullet went through the child’s headboard, her pillow, and traveled the length of her body until it grazed her foot, Lassig said.
If either the girl or the shot had moved a couple of inches, “she would have taken a round in the top of her head,” he said.
Amazingly, the girl was treated at the scene for a bruise and did not have to be transported to the hospital.
Unified police knocked on the neighbor’s door but no one answered. Officers then used a bullhorn to call out the six occupants of the house, Lassig said.
As of 8 a.m., Gray said the investigation into who fired the shot and why was still ongoing.
This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Contributing: Felicia Martinez