‘Unacceptable’: Ogden police chief issues rebuke after 2 weekend shooting incidents

OGDEN — Two men are behind bars in Ogden, suspected in separate shooting incidents over the weekend that prompted a sharp rebuke from police.

Taison Palmer, 19, was booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of 23 counts of felony discharge of a firearm and accused of firing an AR-style rifle 23 times at some sort of gathering of car enthusiasts shortly before midnight on Saturday in a busy commercial area of the city.

Separately, Tyrone Smith, 23, was booked into jail for investigation of felony discharge of a firearm, among other things, for allegedly firing a weapon as he stood in the street at 7th Street and Grant Avenue as a motorist passed him.

No one was injured in either incident, but Ogden Police Chief Jake Sube issued a statement in response, rebuking the suspects’ alleged actions.

“Despite the fortunate outcome, this type of conduct is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Ogden. Those who choose to endanger the lives of our residents through the reckless and indiscriminate use of firearms are not welcome here,” Sube said. “If you engage in this type of conduct, you can be assured that we will leverage all of our available resources to identify, locate, arrest and prosecute you to the fullest extent allowable by law.”

Police were called to a business parking lot near the busy 12th Street and Wall Avenue intersection shortly before midnight on Saturday on a report that a male on a motorcycle “had fired multiple shots using a rifle in a business parking lot,” a police booking affidavit states. Sube’s statement said a “vehicle enthusiast ‘meetup'” was taking place at the location at the time.

A responding officer encountered Palmer driving his motorcycle nearby. The man subsequently fled and then crashed into a fence in the 1300 block of Lincoln Avenue, where authorities detained him. An AR-style rifle was recovered at the scene and authorities found “a large number of spent .22 caliber shell casings at the scene of the reported shooting,” according to Sube’s statement.

A motorist reported that she was driving around 7th Street and Grant Avenue, a residential area, when she came across the man in the middle of the road holding what appeared to be a gun. “As she swerved around him, she heard what she believed to be a gunshot,” an arrest report in Smith’s case states.

A responding police officer in the area heard what he believed to be two gunshots and came across Smith walking on 9th Street near Grant Avenue. Smith fled, according to the affidavit, but later surrendered to authorities in the 200 block of 9th Street. A search of the home where he had fled “resulted in the recovery of evidence linking him to the shooting,” reads Sube’s statement.

The two incidents are “highly concerning,” the chief said.

“We want you to know, however, that we have and will continue to aggressively work to prevent this behavior in our city. Our officers are highly trained, capable, and prepared to act — a fact which contributed to the near-immediate arrests in both of these cases,” Sube said.

Both men were being held in the Weber County jail as of Monday.

In addition to the 23 counts of felony discharge of a firearm, authorities arrested Palmer on suspicion of 15 other potential charges, including prohibited dangerous weapon conduct by a restricted person, fleeing police and driving under the influence.

Aside from felony discharge of a firearm, authorities booked Smith into jail on suspicion of six other potential charges, including prohibited and dangerous weapon conduct by a restricted person.

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