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South Ogden • Police released more details Tuesday about a double homicide from Friday and asked for help from the public in identifying three suspects who appeared in surveillance video.
On Friday, a 911 report of gunshots came in just before 8 p.m., said South Ogden police Chief Darin Parke in a Tuesday news conference. Cyle Vankomen, 24, and his neighbor Kevin Nelson, 61, died of gunshot wounds in Vankomen's home, near 3600 South and Ogden Avenue.
Another 20-year-old man, who also lived in the home, was found injured in the backyard, Parke said. He is "fighting for his life" in the hospital, the chief said, but his exact condition is unknown.
Security cameras from neighbors captured video of three suspects who wore masks, Parke said.
Police believe this shooting was "not random" and that at least one, if not all three victims, was targeted.
The home was a place where people went to drink beer and smoke marijuana, Parke said, and before the homicide, officers had gone to the home on two reports of a loud party and one report of an unkempt yard, which broke a city ordinance.
"Whatever their lifestyle was, I do not believe they were bad people," Parke said. "I am not trying to disparage their lifestyle or their conduct. I am trying to investigate a homicide."
Police hope that releasing the surveillance video will help identify the suspects. Members of the public, especially those familiar with the victims, are specifically asked to note the physical stature, mannerisms, clothing and accessories of the suspects in the video.
The focus of this investigation is the homicide, Parke said, and he hopes that anyone reluctant to come forward with information because they've participated in "less-serious offenses either at the home or with the victims" will realize "we are focused on the homicide."
He said if someone "smoked weed in that house" or if someone is an "underage alcohol drinker," that shouldn't be "a reason not to talk to us."
While he doesn't have the authority to grant immunity, he said those offenses aren't important when balanced against solving a homicide.
Through this investigation, Parke hopes police will be able to "tell loved ones why this happened."
"Any motive at this point would be sheer speculation," the chief said.
Three surveillance videos, two before the shooting and one after, show the suspects watching the house from a neighbor's yard and peeking in the windows of the home. At least one of the suspects appears to be holding a handgun and at least once points the gun toward the home where the shooting later occurred.
Anyone with information about the shooting or possible suspects is asked to contact Weber dispatch at 801-629-8221.
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