A man in his 20s was shot while walking along State Street in Sandy on Thursday night, and the vehicle carrying the shooter sped off before officers could catch up. Police say at least one suspect remains at large after someone inside a car pulled up alongside two pedestrians near 8400 South and opened fire, striking one of them before fleeing the scene.
Sandy police responded to reports of gunshots near 8400 S. State Street, according to ABC4 Utah, which cited Sergeant Michael Olsen as the department's spokesperson on the incident. Olsen said the injured pedestrian, a man in his 20s, reportedly suffered non-life-threatening injuries after someone inside the vehicle shot at both him and a second pedestrian nearby. Officers searched the surrounding area but the vehicle had already fled, and police are now looking for both the car and anyone involved.
The stretch of State Street where the shooting happened is a busy part of the Salt Lake Valley. The area is in Sandy.
Investigators Say Shooting Appears Isolated
Police believe the shooting was an isolated incident and say it poses no apparent threat to the wider public, per the same account from ABC4 Utah. Investigators are still working to determine whether the shooter and the two pedestrians knew each other, and officials have not released additional details beyond what was shared Thursday night. The outlet noted it would continue updating the story as more information becomes available.
No further details about the suspect or suspects have been released. Sandy police, led by Police Chief Greg Severson, have not indicated whether the department's Crime Suppression Unit, which is typically deployed to address localized violent crime trends, is assisting in the search.
Another Vehicle-Related Shooting Along the Same Corridor
Thursday's shooting is not the first time gunfire from a vehicle has disrupted State Street this year. Sandy police made an arrest after a lunchtime road rage shooting near 9800 South in April, when shots were fired from a moving vehicle into another driver's window, leading to the arrest of 32-year-old Antonio Martinez, according to KSL. In February, Sandy police investigated a shooting outside local cleric Imam Shuaib Din's home near the Sandy-West Jordan border. Abdul Raouf Afridi was arrested on multiple counts, including dangerous discharge of a weapon from a vehicle and aggravated assault, although formal charges had not immediately been filed, as reported by The Guardian.
Under Utah law, discharging a firearm from a vehicle at or toward another person is a felony that carries a minimum prison sentence of three to fifteen years if bodily injury results, according to the Salcido Law Firm. Whether prosecutors will pursue such charges in this case depends on an arrest that has not yet happened.
Sandy's Broader Crime Picture
Despite the string of vehicle-related shootings this year, Sandy generally maintains violent crime levels below the national average. Utah's overall violent crime rate was about 230 per 100,000 residents in 2024 and below the U.S. average, according to USAFacts. CrimeGrade also provides separate crime data for Sandy.
The shooting occurred in Sandy on State Street near 8400 South. Police continue searching for the suspect and fleeing vehicle after Thursday's shooting.
