2 hurt, 2 arrested in gang incident

A gang-related shooting in the parking lot of a Salt Lake City store left two men injured and two others in police custody.

Just after 10 p.m. Monday two gang members were leaving Common Cents, 726 N. Redwood Road, when they were approached by two rival gang members and were each shot in the lower leg, said Salt Lake City police detective Dwayne Baird.

The gunmen were allegedly in another fight earlier that evening and either lost or didn't like the way the fight ended, Baird said. Because of that, they went out looking for a random rival gang member to pick a fight with, he said.

The two men shot Monday had nothing to do with the original argument, he said.

Baird said officers with the Salt Lake City Gang Unit took a 16-year-old boy and 20-year-old man into custody early Tuesday.

The victims were taken to a local hospital in non-life threatening condition.

The shooting was one of several gang-related incidents in Salt Lake City over the weekend. Investigators Tuesday did not believe any of the incidents were related.

Just before 8 p.m. Monday, a Mobile Neighborhood Watch team reported four gunshots fired from one vehicle at another near 300 South and 1400 West.

Officers spotted one of the vehicles a short time later and a short pursuit ended in the arrest of the 15-year-old driver and a 37-year-old male passenger.

Baird said the chase ended after the vehicle broke down. It appeared the driver had been fleeing the entire time with the parking brake on.

Police tracked a 16-year-old boy in the other car to an address where he was arrested.

In yet another incident police are calling gang related, officers were called to a fight early Saturday near 200 South and 155 West. A total of three people were arrested on various charges, including investigation of evidence tampering for allegedly swallowing drugs when police arrived and drug possession. More arrests are expected in that incident.

A stabbing victim believed to be part of the original fight showed up at the hospital later but was uncooperative with detectives, Baird said.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Robertson with the Metro Gang Unit said gang activity has spiked again recently. There was an increase in gang related crime, including a homicide, near the end of 2005 through the first of the year, then it calmed back down, he said. Now there appears to be a small increase again, he said.

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