Asia-Pacific

At least 42 wounded in Utah drive-by shootings

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-04 18:11

LOS ANGELES - At least 42 people were hit by suspected shooters with BB guns in drive-by shootings over the past month, with a Utah judge being added to the list as the latest victim, it was reported Sunday.

Third District Court Judge Ann Boyden, who was out for a walk with her husband in Salt Lake City when she was shot, became the latest victims of a long list of at least 42. She heard a crack and realized she was shot in the leg at about 6:30 pm Thursday, local police said. She is one of four new cases reported in Salt Lake City, Utah alone.

Judge Boyden's husband said she is at work and doing fine. Neither she or the police is reluctant to dwell on the details.

On March 23 alone, seven people were shot with a BB gun, including a 13-year-old girl in South Salk Lake. Most of the victims were fired on within 2 1/2 hours. None of the wounds are life-threatening, it was reported.

In many of the incidents, suspected juveniles drove around and randomly firing a BB gun at pedestrians before they apparently fled in a silver car. However, investigators were unsure if the same group was causing all the problems or if they were dealing with several groups, possibly copycats.

So far South Salt Lake has had a total of nine cases of BB gun shootings. West Valley City leads with 19 cases. Police from Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Unified police, Taylorsville and West Valley City have been mobilized to crack the case before the suspects can hurt anyone.

If the suspected shooters are caught, they'll face felony aggravated assault charges, according to police.