This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has determined a police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man who fired shots into a crowd outside a Salt Lake City nightclub last month.
Lohra Miller's office made the announcement in a news release issued Friday. The D.A. cited a Utah law that says a peace officer can use deadly force to prevent a suspect from escaping arrest after they either inflicted or threatened death or serious bodily injury, or when it is necessary to prevent serious injury or death to an officer or another person.
The shooting happened Jan. 24 near Club Bliss at 404 S. West Temple. Around 1:15 a.m., an officer heard a gunshot, saw several people running from the club, parked his car and heard a second gunshot, according to the D.A. report.
The officer then saw Hussein Al-Rekabi, 19, walking quickly southward from Club Bliss. He ordered Al-Rekabi to stop, but the man proceeded to a parked white car, opened the driver's side door, looked at the officer, then got in and "drove the car toward the officer," according to the report.
"The officer fired six shots into the vehicle, striking Mr. Al-Rekabi in the torso," according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.
Al-Rekabi kept driving, but ran into a utility pole and fire hydrant near 530 S. West Temple and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The District Attorney's Office refused to identify the officer involved in the shooting.
Al-Rekabi's shots grazed one man in the back, and struck one woman in the arm, said Salt Lake City police Sgt. Robin Snyder. The man was treated at the scene, and the woman was taken to the hospital and later released.
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