MIDVALE -- There was a terrifying wake up call for neighbors in a Midvale apartment complex as a home invasion robbery turned deadly.
Four people were inside the apartment Tuesday morning when there was a knock at the door. They answered it, and that's when the ordeal began. When it was all over one suspect was dead, shot by one of the residents in the apartment.
Police have been able to identify the man shot and killed during the home invasion at the Spring of Country Woods Apartment complex at 6995 S. 1030 East. They say the Metro Gang Unit was able to identify him through the tattoos on his body. They are waiting to release his name pending family notification.
Police say he had been affiliated with gangs in the past, but whether this was gang relates is still under investigation.
Sgt. John Salazar, with the Midvale Police Department, said, "On the deceased we found a weapon, a handgun and two knives. So, they were loaded."
Armed with handguns, knives and latex gloves, Sgt. Salazar says the nine suspects who pushed their way into the apartment were on a mission, but to do what?
"We don't know what was said, we don't know what they were here for," Salazar said.
A man and his nephew were visiting his girlfriend and her sister Tuesday morning when they heard a knock at the door. When one opened the door, the suspects pushed open the door. One of the men tried to close it but was stabbed. Once inside, the suspects held the victims at gunpoint and forced them into a back room.
Neighbors say they heard the rest.
Nicole Hulett said, "I heard screaming, and then I heard three shots and then flashes that happened with the triggers."
Another neighbor, Brian Lee, said, "I heard consistent gun fire, I thought maybe someone was getting murdered."
Police say at one point one of the male victims grabbed a gun from a suspect and opened fire, killing him. More shots were then fired, and the eight other suspects took off.
David Sandford was watching TV in his apartment nearby when he heard the shots. He ran to his porch just in time to see the suspects coming down the stairs.
"It was kind of a free-for-all, everyone was going, getting the heck out of there," he said.
Sandford says one of the suspects, an injured female, ran right past his porch, leaving a blood trail for police. One of the other suspects, he says, was carrying a gun.
"The way he had his hands held looked like he was carrying a shotgun or a riffle," Sanford said.
Police, K-9 units and swat teams all searched the area for hours this morning, looking for the suspects, but so far no one has been located.
Police, however, did locate a gun they believe was used during the invasion about a block from the area.
Police say no evidence was left behind in the apartment, but that everything at the scene does indicate the victim shot the suspect out of self-defense.
