Utah football player Aaron Lowe confirmed dead in SLC shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department confirmed Sunday that University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe was killed in a shooting in Sugar House.

Investigators say some sort of argument started at a house party Lowe was attending at the 2200 block of Broadmoor Street.  Salt Lake City Police Spokesperson Brent Weisberg says the hosts wanted to keep the party relatively small, but a group of people who weren’t invited decided to show up.

Weisberg says, “These individuals arrived at the house party and had been asked to leave because they were uninvited guests.  That is when this disturbance happened that ultimately led to the shooting.”

At first, police reported to a noise complaint at the party around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.  Weisberg says officers did not go to that complaint right away.

“There were other priority calls, other in-progress emergencies that the Salt Lake City Police Department was handling at that time,” he says.

Later that night, at around 12:20 am on Sunday, police got another call from a neighbor reporting it as a fight involving a weapon.

“They were going into an unknown situation.  They knew that there was a fight and there was a weapon involved, and as they were approaching, they received information about the shooting that had occurred,” says Weisberg.

When officers arrived they located Aaron and a second gunshot victim.  Officers provided first aid to both victims and secured the area, but Lowe died at the scene. The name of the second victim has not been released, but they have confirmed it is an adult female who remains in critical condition at a nearby hospital.

Searching for suspects

No arrests have been made, police are treating the case as a homicide.  Investigators will be combing the neighborhood, looking for any kind of security footage or doorbell video they can find.  However, they did not have a suspect description. 

Weisberg says some party guests left immediately after the shooting, and they believe those witnesses may have crucial information.

“We believe many people who were at this house party either had photos or videos and detectives are very interested in reviewing that,” he says.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is asking anyone with information about this case to call 801-799-3000 and reference case number 21-176828.

Remembering Aaron Lowe

Kyle Whittingham named Aaron Lowe as the first recipient of the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship. Aaron switched his number from 2 to 22 during the offseason to honor the life of his childhood friend.

Aaron was on his third season with the Utes, in 2019 he played 11 games on special teams, and in 2020 he played all five games in special teams.

In a statement, Utah Football Head Coach Kyle Whittingham wrote:
“We are devastated to hear about the passing of Aaron Lowe. Our thoughts and prayers are with Aaron’s family and friends, along with the other individual who was harmed in this tragic incident. Aaron was a great teammate, friend, brother, and son and was loved by anyone who crossed paths with him. He will be deeply missed.”

There is a lot of support pouring in from the community.

I am deeply saddened by the shooting death of Aaron Lowe. This talented young man touched the lives of so many here in Salt Lake City and in Texas. The Salt Lake City Police Department grieves with and offers our condolences to the Lowe family & the University of Utah community. https://t.co/MiJPmMwLeZ

— Chief Mike Brown (@ChiefMikeBrown) September 26, 2021

Abby and I mourn with our @UUtah family and friends at the tragic passing of Aaron Lowe this morning. Our prayers are with his family at this terribly difficult time.

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) September 26, 2021

Rest In Peace Aaron Lowe🙏🏾 https://t.co/pJXc7uVNPy

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) September 26, 2021

On Sunday evening, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown provided an update

I’d like to to provide an update on the Aaron Lowe homicide investigation. Our detectives are working through each lead. We still believe there are people who have not yet come forward. Our priority is getting justice. #SLC #SaltLakeCity #Utah pic.twitter.com/yQjtQTqhMS

— Chief Mike Brown (@ChiefMikeBrown) September 26, 2021