Police throughout northern Utah on Friday were hunting for an “armed and dangerous” suspect in a Layton shooting that put a 32-year-old man in the hospital with multiple bullet wounds.
Layton police Lt. Travis Lyman said the victim, whose name was withheld, remained in serious condition at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he had been flown on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the search continued for the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Eddie Angelo Samora.
Court records show the ex-con has a violent, gang-related history, having pled guilty in 2007 to second-degree felony aggravated assault in exchange for a first-degree felony attempted murder charge being dismissed.
That state case stemmed from Samora’s allegedly shooting another motorist in the shoulder while driving on Interstate 215 in May 2007.
Then in August 2008, a federal judge sentenced Samora to prison for up to 10 and a half years for brandishing a firearm during a Rose Park area carjacking.
In the most recent incident, Samora allegedly shot the victim on a sidewalk outside a Layton apartment complex. Samora then left the scene in a dark-colored SUV, witnesses told police.
Police in nearby Centerville reportedly spotted the SUV a short time later, but were unable to pull it over before it sped away. The vehicle later was found abandoned near 300 North and 900 West in Salt Lake City.
Police have declined to release further details on what brought on the shooting, but did indicate Samora and the victim were acquainted, and that Samora apparently lived in the same apartment complex as the man shot in the torso and lower legs shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday.
Samora is described as a Latino, about 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds. He has brown hair and black eyes, police said.
Police urged anyone who sees Samora to avoid contact, but to call 911 immediately.