Mickey Bucio, 18, of Murray, was arrested Oct. 7 in connection with a Sept. 30 shooting near a Salt Lake City park that wounded a 16-year-old boy. Charging documents allege Bucio fired a handgun toward a group after a dispute that began over loud music, according to KSL.com.
What Charging Documents Allege
Charging documents allege two men had been drinking and playing loud music near a park around 700 South and 400 East when someone asked them to turn it down. The men left, then returned about five to 10 minutes later with others, leading to a confrontation with a witness and his family, according to KSL News. ABC4 also reported that the group returned about 10 minutes after being asked to lower the music.
A witness told investigators the group appeared to be trying to provoke a victim into fighting, the charges state. Family members came outside to intervene, and a physical fight followed; one family member was punched. The charges also allege that another male threw a rock or object toward the family, according to KSL.com.
Gunfire, a Fleeing Suspect and a Teen Rushed to the Hospital
Bucio allegedly fired approximately four to seven rounds toward the witness and his two brothers, according to the charges. A 16-year-old boy was struck in the buttocks and was taken to a local hospital by family members rather than waiting for an ambulance. ABC4 reports that surveillance footage reportedly showed the person who was shot punching one of the group members as the gunfire began, and later showed him limping and bleeding from the scene.
Police recovered six bullet casings and a blood trail at the scene, per the booking affidavit cited by KSL. Investigators also documented blood spatter, five bullet impact sites, and vehicle damage consistent with a bullet strike, according to the charges. In the aftermath, officers found a bag containing identification and other personal items belonging to Bucio left behind at the scene — a detail also confirmed by the same ABC4 report.
Suspect Allegedly Sent Friends Back to Retrieve Evidence
Charging documents allege two women later returned to the alley and filmed the blood trail, spatter and broken police caution tape. The footage captured one woman identifying the location and another saying they had tried to find Bucio’s bag. Bucio reportedly told investigators he had sent a female friend back to look for the bag and one of his friends, according to the charges cited by KSL.com.
Bucio told detectives he had been drinking with friends at the park and said one of his friends was punched during the altercation, the charges state. He allegedly said he retrieved a handgun, fired at the group involved in the fight and fled. He also claimed he had found the gun in a Murray dumpster, according to the charging documents.
Search Turns Up a Reported-Stolen Handgun
The Metro Gang Unit served a search warrant at Bucio's home and arrested him on Oct. 7, according to KSL's reporting. ABC4 reports that detectives executing that same search found a 9mm handgun along with documents identifying Provo, and that the firearm had been reported stolen out of Provo. Police said the gun allegedly used in the Sept. 30 shooting had also been reported stolen, according to the charges.
Bucio has been charged in 3rd District Court, though the two outlets describe the lead firearm count differently: KSL's charging-document review describes it as discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, while ABC4 described the lead charge as felony discharge of a firearm causing bodily injury. Beyond that count, Bucio faces five counts of discharge of a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault, theft by receiving stolen property, rioting, and threatening to use a weapon during a fight, according to KSL; ABC4's accounting of the charges similarly lists theft or receiving a firearm or operable motor vehicle, five counts of felony discharge of a firearm, riot with a dangerous weapon, two counts of aggravated assault, and threats with a dangerous weapon. ABC4 reports Bucio has been booked into jail and is being held without bail.
Utah Firearm Injury Trend
For broader context, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ firearm-injury dashboard reports that firearm injuries across all firearm types decreased from 2022 to 2023, with unintentional firearm injuries the exception.
Under Utah law, a conviction for discharging a firearm that causes serious bodily injury to another person is classified as a first-degree felony, according to the Utah Legislature's published code. Anyone seeking further case records can consult the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office guidance on locating case information.
