Utah Football Players Shot At Late-Night Party, Expected To Recover

Two Utah football players were shot on Saturday night at a late-night party, according to USA Today.

Utah sophomore tight end Lo Falemaka and freshman running back Marcel Brooks-Brown were attending a party in Salt Lake City on Saturday, according to their coach, Kyle Whittingham. They both sustained gunshot wounds to the torso, and were taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Despite their injuries, both Utah football players are expected to fully recover. Whittingham said he isn’t sure when the teammates will be able to return to the football field, but he is optimistic that it will be soon.

“Obviously, our first concern is that both Lo and Marcel are going to be OK, which appears to be the case,” Whittingham said in a statement. “We don’t have all of the details yet, but it is our understanding that they are the victims in this incident and we feel very fortunate that they are expected to fully recover. It is unknown at this time how soon they will be able to return to the football field, but we are optimistic it will be in the near future.”

According to Fox Sports, the boys were attending a private party when the suspected shooters arrived. After a confrontation, the suspects were asked to leave, and then they opened fire shortly before midnight on Saturday.

“An altercation occurred between two victims and suspects, that is when one of the suspects pulled out a gun shot the two victims. The suspects fled the scene on foot,” a statement from the Salt Lake Police Department read.

Because of HIPAA, both Falemaka and Brooks-Brown are at an undisclosed area hospital and are not available for comment. A Utah athletics spokeswoman confirmed Brooks-Brown had been released from a local hospital as of Sunday evening.

The Salt Lake City police said they are pursuing three male suspects who showed up uninvited and refused to leave the party.

The following is per the Salt Lake Tribune.

“The wanted men all were described as in their 20s. Two of the suspects were black — one 6-foot, wearing a red bandanna under a baseball cap, and a red shirt; the other 5-foot-9, with short dreadlocks under a baseball cap, and a red shirt.

The third suspect was white, heavyset, with a beard.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects is being asked to contact SLCPD at 801-799-3000.

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