OGDEN, Utah — The Ogden police chief is urging the community to be more vigilant following multiple arrests for people allegedly shooting guns into the air. The chief called the shootings unacceptable.
Two people were arrested following the incidents: 23-year-old Tyrone David Benjamin Smith and 19-year-old Taison TL Palmer.
"To the law-abiding citizens of Ogden: We know these types of events are highly concerning," Ogden's police chief, Jacob Sube, stated. "We want you to know, however, that we have and will continue to aggressively work to prevent this behavior in our city."
According to the Ogden Police Department, the first incident happened in the 700 block of Grant Avenue at around 6:45 p.m. Police say a woman was driving down the road when she spotted a man in the middle of the roadway.
The driver was navigating her way around the male when she and her passenger heard what they believed to be a gunshot. The driver and passenger fled the area before calling the police. Neither person in the car was injured, and the vehicle wasn't struck.
An officer in the area also heard the gunshots and responded to the location, finding a man running on foot into the backyard of a nearby residence.
Minutes later, officers spotted a man matching the suspect's description standing in the doorway of a home in the 200 block of 9th Street. He was taken into custody and to the hospital after alleging that he had ingested a large amount of narcotics.
The man, identified by police as Tyrone Smith, admitted responsibility for the shooting and is charged with felony discharge of a firearm, failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, and public intoxication, among others.
Hours later, just before midnight, Weber Area Dispatch received several reports of gunshots in the parking lot North of businesses in the 200 block of 12th Street. One caller reported a man attending a vehicle "meetup" had brandished and fired several rounds from an AR-style rifle before fleeing on a motorcycle.
Nobody was injured in the shooting.
Officers in the area observed a motocyclist who matched the suspect's description, but the driver failed to yield to officers.
After a short pursuit, the motorcyclist lost control and crashed into an apartment complex's fence. The motorcyclist was identified as 19-year-old Taison Palmer.
An AR-style rifle was found at the scene of the crash, and at the scene of the shooting, a large number of spent shell casings were found.
Palmer faces charges of prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, 23 charges of felony discharge of a firearm, speeding, and driving under the influence, among others.
