Juvenile shot near Taylorsville High School marks Utah’s fourth teenager-involved shooting in past month

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A suspect is still at large after a juvenile male was shot near Taylorsville High School. This is Utah’s fourth shooting involving teenagers in the past month.

According to the Taylorsville Police Department, the teenager is expected to survive, and the incident is under an active investigation. This comes as nearly six teenagers have been injured or killed in gun violence-related incidents in the past month.

In October, 16-year-old Mason Caballero, a Ben Lomond High School Student, was shot and killed in Ogden. Three people, including two teenagers, have been arrested in the shooting. The father of one of the suspects was also charged with obstruction of justice.

In another October incident in Ogden, a 15-year-old was allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend.

Three other teens also lost their lives in separate Halloween shootings in Salt Lake County. On Oct. 25, an 18-year-old man died after a drive-by shooting outside a Halloween party in West Valley City. The following week, on Halloween night, two teenagers were shot at another party in West Valley, and police are still searching for the suspect.

Since 2023, Utah has documented at least 15 gun-related incidents in schools.

According to a report published in 2020 by the Utah Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHS), Utah has had a higher prevalence of high school students reporting that they carried a gun at least one day in the past month compared to the U.S. since 2005.

DHHS emphasizes firearm safety for teenagers by recommending secure storage, which starts with treating all firearms as if they were always loaded, educating children on what to do if they find a gun, and discouraging alcohol and drug use while handling a firearm.