SALT LAKE CITY — Two people were killed in separate overnight shootings in Salt Lake City, police reported only 18 minutes apart early Saturday.
Watch below as police hold briefing on overnight shootings:
The Salt Lake City Police Department said the first shooting occurred at 1045 East 2100 South in the Sugar House neighborhood.
The second happened at 825 S. Park Street just north of Liberty Park.
During the first shooting just before 11:45 p.m., an argument between several people led to 26-year-old Oscar Moreno shooting a 38-year-old man. After that, another man grabbed the gun from Moreno and shot him, killing him at the scene.
The 38-year-old man was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition, while the other shooter and additional individuals have been detained by police.
At the second scene, a shooting occurred outside an apartment between two people. The victim, 21-year-old Maxwell Rodgers, was shot by Charlie Poulsen, and later died on the scene. Poulsen went back inside the home and refused to come out.
SWAT team and crisis negotiators responded, but the 53-year-old man was later found dead inside the apartment, with Poulsen's death was caused by suicide.
Police spokesperson Brent Weisberg said what occurred overnight is very rare for the city, adding that prior to the shootings, Salt Lake City's homicide rate this year was down 40 percent from the same point in 2023.
"I've talked to several people within our police department," Weisberg said. "No one can recall immediately within recent memory when we've had two homicides almost back to back."
