Utah High School Student Dies After Off-Campus Shooting

SALT LAKE CITY – A 16-year-old Kearns High School student died Wednesday after being shot in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from campus.

Two 16-year-olds were arrested about an hour after the noontime shooting at house four blocks west of the school.

"We believe both sides of the altercation were involved with gangs," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson said.

Investigators said the Kearns High sophomore was shot once in the torso — damaging multiple organs — before running a block and a half to the high school where he collapsed. It was unclear Wednesday what triggered the dispute, although police believe it originated at the school.

"Whatever the cause was, there's no rationale," Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said.

The boy was taken to Murray's Intermountain Medical Center where he underwent surgery. He died late Wednesday afternoon, Hutson said.

The boy's name was not immediately released.

Police believe the shooter was also a student at the high school. Both suspects are being held at the juvenile detention facility.

Multiple shots were fired during the dispute as the two groups of young people faced off.

"It was clear that these two had some history and had been involved in altercations with each other," Hutson said. "Certainly they were rivals in this particular setting."

The two suspects contacted a school resource officer and volunteered to talk to police, Winder said. The details of the conversation were not released.

Hutson said investigators have recovered the gun they believe was used in the shooting. He declined to say what kind it was.

The high school and several other district schools in the area were placed on lockdown after the shooting, which is standard district procedure. The lockdown at Kearns High was lifted around 2 p.m. as dozens of anxious parents sat parked outside waiting for their children.

A district Web site says about 1,819 students attend the school.