This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A West Valley City mall food court employee, stabbed repeatedly during a weekend fight with three suspected gang members, was in improved condition Monday.
West Valley City police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku said the victim — a 19-year-old whose identity was withheld — had undergone surgery and his condition, initially critical, had been stabilized as of Monday.
The victim was handing out food samples just before 5 p.m. Saturday at Valley Fair Mall when the three suspects, ages 18, 19 and 21, approached him. An altercation broke out, ending when the trio allegedly stabbed the employee multiple times in the back and attempted to flee.
Two off-duty West Valley officers happened to be working as mall security nearby. One of the male suspects was tackled immediately, while the other two men fled on foot to a nearby apartment complex and moments later were taken into custody without further incident.
The three suspects, all of them from out of state, were booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault.
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