(Stock photo)
WEST VALLEY CITY – Officials from the Granite School District are breathing easier after a teen suspected of opening fire during Granger High School’s homecoming game has been caught. They say the boy was captured after causing problems on Trax trains.
During the festivities last month, investigators say two groups of teens met in the school’s parking lot for some sort of fight. They say the gunman fired two shots, although they’re not sure if he was aiming at someone or pointing the gun at the ground.
Police detained six people, at first, including the teen they say is their suspect. However, they couldn’t hold them for long.
“We were able to corroborate any evidence to continue to detain them,” according to District Spokesman Ben Horsley.
Eventually, police were able to get the evidence they needed to arrest their suspect, but, when officers went to his home he had reportedly run away.
Weeks later, UTA police were getting complaints about a group of teens riding on Trax trains. The description of one of the boys matched that of the suspect Granite Police were looking for.
Horsley says, “With the help of the UTA police and some of their cameras, they were able to identify the suspects as well as some of his peers acting out on trains and causing problems and issues.”
Horsley says the district and UTA police teamed up to catch the juvenile if he ever rode the trains, again. So, they sent undercover officers to ride on the light rail trains and, eventually, their suspect was spotted.
“A Utah Transit Authority police officer in plain clothes was able to take the suspect into custody,” he says.
District officials expect the teen to face charges like aggravated assault, weapons possession, discharge of a firearm and trespassing. They’ll be working with prosecutors to determine if more charges are appropriate.
“This primary suspect was our ultimate prize. We wanted to make sure we got this individual off the street as he had possession of a dangerous weapon and had used it on school property,” Horsley says.