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Chief Brown Apologizes to Mother of Teenager Shot Saturday By Salt lake City Police

Whittney Evans
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown with Dr. David Parker, chair of the Salt Lake City Police Department Citizens Advisory Board.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown met with reporters Monday to discuss a shooting that took place over the weekend in which a 17-year-old black male was shot by police.

Police have not released the name of the 17-year-old black male whom police shot Saturday night near The Gateway mall, but several local television news outlets have identified him Abdi Mohamed. According to Salt Lake City Police, officers witnessed two males attacking another male with metal objects on the corner of 200 South and Rio Grande Street. When officers confronted the two suspects and asked them to drop their weapons, one suspect complied, but Mohamed continued to advance on the victim and was shot three times. 

Mohamed’s condition was last listed as critical.

Chief Brown visited the teenager’s mother at the hospital and in her home.  

“I looked her straight in the face and said this is a tragic situation and we’re sorry this occurred.” Brown says. “What can we do to come together as not only their family, but as a community to make this better?”

Brown says there are five investigations underway by the Unified Police Department, The Salt Lake City Police Civilian Review Board and ultimately the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office among others.

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski met with the chief Sunday. She says she’s confident UPD will do a thorough investigation and praised Brown for quote “going the extra mile.”

“In a situation like this, whether a shooting is justified or not justified, whatever ends up happening down the road, what’s happening today is that we are trying to be very mindful of how difficult this situation is for our community and the families involved,” Biskupski says.

Chief Brown says body camera footage will be released to the public pending the close of an active investigation.  The officers involved have been placed on routine paid administrative leave. 

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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