Salt Lake City police say they have arrested a man for a Tuesday shooting that killed one person and injured two others on Kensington Avenue.
The shooting started with a fight at the Kings Lounge at 25 E. Kensington Ave., according to police.
Police were initially called to the Colonial Motel at 1530 S. Main St. just after midnight on Tuesday. When they arrived they found a man in critical condition who had been shot in his torso and forearm.
The police learned that the victim had run to the Colonial Motel after being shot at the nearby Kings Lounge. Police said in a probable cause statement that they found blood and multiple used gun cartridges on the sidewalk in front of the Kings Lounge.
A second victim, later identified as Salesi Katoa, 37, was found dead in a car outside the Kings Lounge. An autopsy revealed he was shot seven times, according to the probable cause statement. The police later learned that there was a third victim, a woman, who had been taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police said they found the suspect at the Kings Lounge and took him in for questioning.
He told police that the female victim and another man had been staying with him. He told police that three men, including Katoa, came to his door Monday night and he let them in because he knew one of them, according to the probable cause statement.
He told police they were all sitting inside the lounge when one of the three men pulled pulled out a meth pipe. He said he told the man to “put that s--t away” and another one of the three men began punching him in the head. He said that the man who was staying with him shot the victims.
The man who was staying with the suspect told police that one of the three men threatened him with a knife, according to the probable cause statement. He said he pulled out his gun and fired three or four rounds. The three men ran away. The man staying with the suspect said he realized the woman with them had been shot so he dropped his gun and wrapped her wound in cloth. At that point the suspect picked up the gun, ran outside and fired eight more rounds. The man staying with the suspect then drove the woman to the hospital.
When police spoke with the woman, she gave the same story as the man who was staying with the suspect. She said he helped her when she was bleeding while the suspect was outside. The woman said the suspect came back inside and said he had killed someone.
Police said in the probable cause statement that they believe the suspect was no longer in danger when he shot the victims. The statement says Katoa was shot while attempting to flee.
