This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 17-year-old boy was shot twice in the leg Tuesday at a Kearns park in what police believe was a gang-related attack.
Unified Police officers responded to a shooting around 7 p.m. at Mountain Man Park, near 4900 South Heath Avenue (5150 West). The teen was taken to Intermountain Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
The first officer on scene found Robbin Allgood, a former paramedic, applying pressure with a blanket to a gunshot wound in the boy's left leg.
"I was concerned for the person," Allgood said. "He was bleeding pretty good."
Allgood, a friend of a nearby resident, was one of the first to get to the scene and call 911. He said he was helping fix a lawn mower when he heard gunfire from across the street in the park.
Witnesses said six to eight teenagers approached the 17-year-old, who was with three friends, a girl and two boys, said Detective Shane Manwaring, the public information officer for UPD. The two groups faced off from across Heath Avenue.
"The two groups were taunting each other," Manwaring said.
The 17-year-old pulled out a gun and fired at the larger group, who quickly returned fire, hitting the teen. The larger group ran away, and police believe some were seen getting into a red Grand Am.
Teenagers from the larger group remain at large, Manwaring said.
"Two groups of people were obviously starting a fight," he said. "We're not sure what the fight was about, but we've got kids and we've got houses. It's an extremely dangerous situation and one that we can't afford to have happen in our neighborhoods."
Allgood said what he found most disturbing was that the teen was shot less than 20 feet from where kids were playing.
"We had little kids here on the swings at the time," Allgood said. "We had kids getting ready for soccer practice, stray bullets going at children. We've got to do something."
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