The victim and the alleged gunman in a fatal shooting at Liberty Park on August 3 have been identified, according to court documents.
The victim, identified in arrest documents only as M.R., was killed Sunday afternoon after being shot in the chest during an argument involving a dog. While authorities have not released the victim's full name, the nonprofit Showers of Hope Utah identified him as Kratos in a social media post.
Dylan Lee McDonald, 21, was identified as the accused gunman. McDonald was taken into custody after witnesses at the park pointed him out to officers. He was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of first-degree felony murder and is being held without bail.
According to arrest documents, McDonald told investigators he believed the victim was threatening a woman with a weapon earlier in the day. McDonald stated that during the incident, he was attempting to take a dog that belonged to someone else from M.R. when M.R. allegedly slapped him.
McDonald told investigators that after the slap, it appeared the victim was reaching for something, causing McDonald to pull his gun and shoot the victim. McDonald also stated that he believed his prescription glasses were slapped off his face, leaving him with blurry vision during the encounter.
Witnesses provided accounts that conflicted with McDonald's statements. Witnesses indicated the victim began to back up before McDonald drew a firearm from his waistband and fired one shot hitting the victim. One witness stated the victim was unwrapping a dog leash from his hand when the shot was fired and did not see the victim reach for anything.
A witness also reported that immediately after the shooting, they removed a black lighter shaped like a pistol from the victim's pocket and showed McDonald that it was a lighter rather than a gun before throwing it to the ground.
Investigators recovered a 9 mm firearm, a single 9 mm cartridge casing, a black holster, and a black lighter shaped like a small pistol from the grass near the shooting site. McDonald was taken to the Salt Lake City Police Department for an interview but requested an attorney, ending the session.
