Man suspected of shooting, killing woman near Salt Lake City nightclub surrenders to police

Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting and killing a 29-year-old woman outside a Salt Lake City nightclub early Sunday.

The man told police he intended to fire a warning shot to stop a fight, authorities said.

According to police, Nichole Olsen was inside the nightclub with her boyfriend when he argued with a group of people, including the 37-year-old man. The man was ejected from the club, and Olsen and her boyfriend remained until it closed.

At about 2 a.m., Olsen and her boyfriend “ran into” the man and his friends in a parking lot near 300 S. West Temple, according to police, where they got into another argument that “turned into a physical fight” between Olsen’s boyfriend and a friend of the other man.

The 37-year-old man then pulled a gun out of his waistband and fired, hitting Olsen once, before driving away.

As Salt Lake Police Department officers responded to the area, they learned that Olsen’s friends had loaded her into a car and driven her to a hospital. Medical teams treated Olsen there, but she died.

“Our hearts are truly saddened by this sudden and unexpected loss of Nikki,” a GoFundMe campaign organized for Olsen’s family states. The campaign, which spells Olsen’s first name as Nicole, had raised more than $16,500 as of Tuesday morning.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office in Kanab — about 312 miles south of Salt Lake City — reported that the shooter turned himself in there on Monday. According to the sheriff’s office, the man said he “fired a single round from his gun to scare people off during the fight inside the parking lot.”

The man has been booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of murder. He is being held without bail.

The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name defendants unless they have been charged with a crime.