Man fatally shoots 17-year-old girl he mistakenly thought was stalking him, Utah cops say
A man accused in the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Utah wrote her parents an apology letter after he admitted to his role in the killing, police said.
The man fired 12 rounds at the girl’s vehicle from the passenger seat of another car at about 10:40 p.m. on Jan. 17, an Iron County Sheriff’s official wrote in a court filing.
The man and the driver of the car he was in had seen the girl’s vehicle in their neighborhood and “presumed the occupants” were stalking them, according to the court filing.
However, the girl was at “the same townhome complex for unrelated reasons,” the court filing said.
The victim’s age isn’t listed in the court filing, but multiple news outlets reported she was 17, including St. George News.
KUTV reported she lived her whole life in Cedar City.
The girl and a friend were driving northwest of the city when a truck pulled up next to them and shots rang out, KSL reported.
The friend survived, but the 17-year-old died from “multiple gunshot wounds,” the court filing said.
The accused shooter and the man police said was driving the car he was in were arrested on investigation of second-degree murder, felony discharge of a firearm and other charges, according to deputies.
In an apology letter to the girl’s parents, the man accused of pulling the trigger described “the reasoning why he chased the victim’s vehicle and shot the victim-driver,” the filing said.
Two other men were arrested on investigation of obstruction of justice and other charges, according to deputies.
McClatchy News isn’t naming the men pending criminal charges being filed.
Cedar City is about a 250-mile drive southwest from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Man fatally shoots 17-year-old girl he mistakenly thought was stalking him, Utah cops say."
.JPG)