The man shot and killed during a fight near Westminster University over the weekend had dreams of attending the University of Utah and eventually moving to California to be near the ocean, his family said.
Usman Dalal was pursuing a degree in higher education and hoped to transfer to the U., according to a GoFundMe created by his family after the shooting.
“He was only 20 years old, and he meant the world to everyone who got to know him,” his sister wrote. “Usman had a big heart. He loved his family and friends. Usman had so many hopes and dreams for his life.”
Dalal wanted to travel and, one day, start a family and give his mother “grandchildren that she could love,” according to the GoFundMe campaign. “He will never be able to do any of these things because someone decided they could take his life from him.”
According to his Facebook account, Dalal was originally from Karachi, Pakistan, before his family relocated to Bountiful. Dalal played football for Woods Cross High School before he graduated in 2023, according to high school sports website MaxPreps.
He was the youngest of three siblings and his mother’s only son, according to the GoFundMe campaign. His mother has taken time off from work to mourn and make funeral arrangements, his sister wrote.
The GoFundMe campaign was launched on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon had raised more than $27,000. The money, his sister wrote, will go to cover the cost of funeral and memorial services, as well as basic living expenses for his mother during her time away from work.
Dalal was shot several times around 12:15 a.m. Saturday near 1300 E. Wilson Avenue in Sugar House, Salt Lake City police said. Police arrested a 24-year-old man on Saturday in connection with the shooting, but no charges had appeared in court records as of Monday afternoon.
Police said the shooting happened when two groups got into an argument that escalated into a fight — and the 24-year-old allegedly pulled out a firearm and shot Dalal.