EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — A man who barricaded himself in an Eagle Mountain home after shooting his brother-in-law said his actions originated from a family argument about the care of his elderly father.
The standoff and shooting took place at 4600 North and Kestrel Way around 1:45 p.m. Monday.
The suspect was later identified as 61-year-old Mark Samuel Roberts. He now faces multiple charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault and domestic violence. He is being held without bail.
The victim was taken to the hospital via LifeFlight, but in fair condition. The victim is a 72-year-old man, and arrest documents say he is Roberts' brother-in-law.
Arrest documents detail that Roberts became upset after a conversation about the care of his 96-year-old father. Roberts lived with his sister, brother-in-law and father at the time and told police he often got into arguments with his family members.
After arguing with his family for a time, police say Roberts eventually went to his room where arguing continued between him and his brother-in-law through closed doors.
According to court documents, Roberts told police after his arrest that he "just snapped," grabbed his gun, opened the door to his bedroom and began shooting.
The victim told police that Roberts fired several rounds at him through a wall but missed before stepping into an open room and shooting him in the hip.
"In firing the handgun several other people in the home were in Roberts' direct line of fire," a press release from officials reads in part.
Roberts peacefully surrendered around 4 p.m. and was arrested. He told police in an interview that he "wished he could take it back."
Residents were asked to avoid the area as police worked to resolve the situation. A "soft" shelter-in-place order was sent out to nearby residents via reverse 9-1-1 calls.
Cedar Valley High School, Frontier Middle School, Mountain Trails Elementary and Eagle Valley Elementary were placed on lockdown, but the city said this was only as a precautionary measure. No schools were involved in the incident itself.
"There was a lot of inconvenience to people who live and work in the area here — a lot of people that weren’t able to get home right away, parents worried about their kids in school, so a lot of impact on people in the area here," UCSO Sgt. Spencer Cannon said. "But it takes a situation like this in order to make sure that you have adequate security and protection for everybody involved."
