Police have arrested 10 people in connection with two gang-related shootings

Police have arrested 10 people in connection with two gang-related shootings that occurred on the same West Valley City street Friday.Those involved in the Friday morning shooting are from two separate Asian gangs, Merritt said, while suspects in the afternoon shooting are from a Latino gang. He said it appears it's only a coincidence the shootings took place on the same street within hours of each other. Some of those arrested had mistakenly confronted officers in an unmarked car, police said. The police made the first arrests early Friday morning, said West Valley City police Lt. Bill Merritt. The six first stopped at a house near 3200 W. Brookway Drive (2927 South), where they smashed a living room window and a car window, Merritt said. Uniformed officers in an unmarked car came to the house to investigate about 12:30 a.m.
While the police were there, neighbors reported shots fired at an apartment complex about half a mile east, at another apartment building at 2554 S. Lake Crest Drive (1810 West). The apartment belonged to family members of the gang member targeted in the vandalism, Merritt said. As the officers got back in their unmarked car, the six men returned to the Brookway Drive house in two cars. Not recognizing the officers, they challenged the officers inside the unmarked car to a fight, Merritt said. When the officers got out, they arrested four of the shocked men as the other two fled in a silver BMW, he said. They were quickly pulled over and arrested as well. The six, all ages 19 to 21, are being held on suspicion of criminal mischief as police search for evidence of the shots reported by neighbors. A 9 mm handgun was found in the BMW, but police did not immediately confirm it had been fired, Merritt said.
Hours later, police were called to the neighborhood again to investigate shots fired at an apartment building at 2523 S. Lake Crest Drive (1810 West) at 12:18 p.m., Merritt said. Witnesses told police a black Chevrolet Suburban pulled up in front of the house and fired one or two rounds at the home from the vehicle, then drove northbound on Redwood Road. No one was injured. Salt Lake City police arrested four men in connection with the shooting about 20 minutes later in the 1200 block of Morton Drive (1890 West), Merritt said. Merritt said police initially suspected Friday afternoon's shooting may have been in retaliation for Friday morning's incident, but have since ruled any connection out.