Police: 2 arrested in connection with Utah mall shooting

MURRAY, Utah — Two people have been arrested in connection with a shooting at Fashion Place mall that took place Sunday, police said.

Jesus J. Payan-Mendoza and Jorge Luis Crecencio-Gonzalez, both 19, have been arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted homicide, Murray police officer Kenny Bass said in a Monday news conference. They are both from the Summit or Wasatch county areas, he said.

Two people, a man and a woman, were injured in the shooting. The man was still in critical condition as of Monday morning, Bass said. The woman was taken to a hospital and later released Sunday afternoon. They were not identified Monday.

The shooting took place about 1:30 p.m. Sunday between two separate gangs, police said in a press conference Monday morning. The two groups happened upon the mall in what appeared to be a chance meeting, Bass said.

There was a verbal altercation between the two gangs, and when one of the gangs started to leave the mall, the other gang followed, Bass said.

At some point, someone from one of the gangs turned and fired at the other gang outside the mall, injuring the two people, who were both members of the opposite gang, Bass said. Someone from the second group then returned fire, he said.

Everyone involved in the shooting then immediately fled the scene, Bass said. Police were still looking Monday for anyone who was “remotely involved” in the shooting, Bass said.

Payan-Mendoza and Crecencio-Gonzalez are both from the same gang, and in the opposite gang of the victims, Bass said. It was not clear Monday if the two instigated the shooting, he added.