Early Sunday morning, an incident breeding more worry than usual into the streets of Salt Lake City unfolded. Police detained two teenagers, one a juvenile and the other barely past the threshold of adulthood, following a gun-related assault that might have done for the 'gram or so the fear suggests. This altercation was reported to have taken place at a grocery store on East 2100 South, predecessor to the rapid police response.
Upon arriving swiftly at the scene after the 3:59 a.m. call to SLC911, officers received descriptions that led them to apprehend a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old near Fairmount Park. According to SLCPD, a gun stashed not far from where the arrests occurred was found by the investigating officers.
The juvenile was booked on a string of charges, detailed by the police department as aggravated assault, brandishing a firearm during an altercation, unlawful possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor. The second individual, identified as 18-year-old Sladen Beutler-Jones, is facing charges of assault and unlawful use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
With the trigger potentially being fame of a perverse kind, authorities are considering whether this assault was carried out in the hopes of capturing viral attention on social media. Those same officers who found the gun are leading the follow-up investigation, trying to untangle the raveled motives behind the aggression.
While charges represent merely allegations, and each arrested individual retains the presumption of innocence, the uncertainty festering in the social media-saturated world beckons a hard look at the content we valorize. "Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," as obtained by SLCPD.
