One person injured after shooting in Herriman, suspect arrested

HERRIMAN, Utah, September 23, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) – Herriman City Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on multiple felony charges following a shooting Sunday night that left one person with a shoulder injury.

Police responded to a report of shots fired at 11:30 p.m. They went to the Emerson Apartments, 5605 W. Roe Deer Lane, in Herriman. When officers arrived, they found a vehicle that had crashed into a fence next to the pool.

“All occupants had fled the area. Three empty cartridge cases and one live cartridge were found in the parking lot,” the report said.

“Shortly after officers arrived, a man and a woman arrived at the scene and claimed to be in the crashed vehicle,” the report continues.

The man and woman told police they were shot at by people in a white car. When officers asked if anyone else was in the vehicle with them, they named Alejandro Romero, the 19-year-old man who was later arrested.

Other witnesses told officers on scene that they saw a man wearing a red shirt and white shorts fleeing the scene on foot. When officers found Romero, he was wearing clothing that matched that description.

“Alejandro claimed that he was at his brother's girlfriend's house and after leaving in a vehicle, he was followed by unknown persons in a vehicle. This vehicle crashed into the back of the vehicle in which Alejandro was, causing it to crash into the fence. Alejandro claimed that he was scared and fled the scene.”

Romero said he did not know who fired the shots and “said no one in their vehicle had a weapon or fired any shots.” Officers were given permission to search Alejandro's residence but were unable to find a weapon. The vehicle Alejandro was in was impounded and a search warrant will be issued at a later date to attempt to recover the weapon.

Riverton police received a call that a man had been shot with a pellet gun and his vehicle was damaged. Officers headed to Riverton, located the vehicle “and found multiple bullet holes in it,” Romero's affidavit states. They interviewed the driver and passenger of the car found in Riverton.

“The passenger had a wound to his shoulder that appeared to have been caused by shrapnel from the shots fired at the vehicle. Both the driver and passenger identified Alejandro by name and description as the person who shot them.”

The vehicle found in Riverton was also confiscated as evidence, according to the police statement.

Romero was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail system, where he was investigated for aggravated assault, three counts of use of a firearm with bodily injury, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person with restricted authority, all of which are listed as second-degree felonies.

If the case goes to court, the charges and their severity will be determined by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

“Based on the victims' statements and the evidence in their vehicle, Alejandro was arrested on multiple charges,” Romero's affidavit states. “Alejandro is an illegal immigrant and would likely flee the area if released.”

Neither the affidavit nor the press release mentioned any further arrests at this time.

According to the police statement, Herriman detectives are following up on any additional leads and anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 801-840-4000 and reference case number HR24-18737.