Ogden City Police say they have arrested Isaias Emanuel Carranza, 16. Prosecutors say he shot and killed Mason Caballero, also 16 years old.
The warrant for Carranza’s arrest was issued Friday. In a news release, police said they arrested him “in the early hours” of Saturday morning, but declined to release any other information about the arrest “to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
“Details surrounding Mr. Carranza’s arrest will be released when it is appropriate to do so,” the release said.
The Weber County Attorney’s Office charged Carranza with 29 felonies: attempted aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder, 25 counts of felony discharge of a firearm and one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. With the exception of a third-degree felony charge for possessing a weapon, all of the charges are first-degree felonies.
Prosecutors also allege the shooting was connected to a gang and happened in a school zone.
In Utah, prosecutors can file certain serious felony charges, like aggravated murder, directly in adult court when a defendant is 16 or 17 years old — which is what the Weber County Attorney’s Office did in this case. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify juveniles charged with crimes unless their case reaches the adult court system, as in Carranza’s case.
The shooting took place at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, after classes were dismissed for the day at Ben Lomond High, according to Ogden City Police.
The shooter, according to court documents, fired from a window in a Cadillac toward a white Nissan Versa, where Caballero was riding.
Investigators found 22 fired casings at the scene, according to court documents, along with three more in the Nissan.
After Caballero was hit, police say he was taken to the high school, where school staff and a school resource officer tried to give him medical help. Officials say he died later that afternoon.