By Noelle Nicolai
A 25-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday night in American Fork by his older brother.
Police received the call at 7:21 p.m. from an upset woman living near 400 East and Elm Avenue in American Fork. When police arrived at the home they found a heavily armed 31-year-old man, now a suspect for murder.
According to police, he was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and a 2-43 rifle. He also had a nine millimeter handgun tucked into his waistband. The officers drew their weapons, but no shots were fired. One officer rushed toward the suspect and tackled him to the ground.
?Quite a heroic thing to do and it did turn out, in this case, to be the right thing to do,? said Terry V. Fox, American Fork Police Chief to KSL-TV Wednesday. ?We didn?t have anybody else get hurt.?
The suspect was handcuffed and placed under arrest.
The police searched the area and found evidence of a shoot out ? several empty shell casings ? around a pick up truck in the back yard. They then found the victim dead from multiple gun shot wounds.
Police say at least two other women were home at the time of the shooting. Officers are still investigating the crime and have not discovered any motives for the murder.
According to the Utah Disaster Center, violent crimes have increased from 484 instances in 1960 to 5,711 in 2000.
?The increase reflects a disturbing trend,? said Kimberly Harman, an American studies major, from Park City. ?It?s hard to imagine a reason to shoot man, let alone your brother.?
