CLEARFIELD — Jay Jones is still shocked that a shooting that left four teenagers wounded happened right behind his house. “This is a quiet neighborhood,” Jones said as he stood in his backyard, looking at the house to the west of his, where a party brought in police from several agencies early Saturday morning.
Clearfield police are still seeking information about the shooting, which happened at a party in the cul-de-sac of 150 N. 1200 West at 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We don’t know if the victims were specifically targeted or if it was a random shooting,” Lt. Adam Malan said.
Police were following a number of leads Monday.
Malan said detectives also did not know if there was more than one shooter, if the incident was gang-related or if there are other victims who have not reported their injuries.
Police do know four teenagers were shot.
Three of those teens have been treated and released from local hospitals. The fourth, a male, is still hospitalized, recovering from a gunshot wound in his throat, Malan said.
One of the victims, a teenage girl, was found hiding outside with a gunshot wound in the back.
“She was hiding from the cops,” Malan said. “I’m sure she was scared.”
Another victim, a male, went home and didn’t realize the injury to his head was from a small-caliber gun until police came to his house to talk to him. A friend drove him to a local hospital for treatment.
Jones said his wife was watching TV late Friday night and opened a window to allow fresh air into their bedroom. They could hear the noise from a party at the house behind them.
“That’s not unusual,” Jones said. “They have a couple of parties there every year.”
But then it seemed to get louder, and the couple heard what at first sounded like fireworks.
Next thing they knew, “a stampede of people were jumping the fences and running through our backyard,” Jones said.
One teenage boy hid under the their deck, only to get trapped by their Labrador dog, Berry, who wasn’t about to let the young man out, Jones said.
Jones and his wife went to investigate what Berry was growling at and found the boy.
“He said, ‘Hey, lady, please call off your dog and I’ll leave,’ ” Jones said.
The boy then jumped back over the 6-foot-high chain-link fence and was stopped by police.
Malan said when police from a number of agencies — including Clearfield, Clinton, Syracuse and the Davis County Sheriff’s Office — arrived, between 50 and 60 teenagers and adults were at the home, while others had already left by foot or in cars.
The fight that led to the shooting apparently started outside, Malan said.
He said there was underage drinking at the party and that those who had been drinking were cited.
Anyone with information about the shooting can call police at 801-525-2806 or 801-525-2837.
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