A Utah man angry about noise from a dirt bike punched a child; fired shots at the boy, his brother and his father; and barricaded himself inside his home for several hours before being taken into custody.
According to the Unified Police Department, at about 3 p.m. on Sunday, a 61-year-old Millcreek man became enraged by the noise from a dirt bike that children were riding near his home in the area of 300 East and 4300 South. Police said the man approached a 6-year-old boy, yelled at him and punched him several times in the head. The boy was wearing a helmet and was not seriously injured.
A neighbor told police her home security system had captured the events on video, “which clearly shows the male approach” the boy “and punch him in the head area.”
According to a probable cause statement, the boy’s father ran toward the suspect. When he arrived, “the suspect drew a small, black handgun from his waist and pointed it” at the father. As the father was “retreating away from the suspect, the suspect fired three rounds” at the father and his two young sons.
A SWAT team was called to the scene, and the suspect eventually surrendered without incident shortly before 9 p.m. According to police, he was “heavily intoxicated.”
The suspect was booked into the Salt Lake County jail and is under investigation for child abuse, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and felony discharge of a firearm.
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