CRIME
Boys & Girls club in SLC says teen shooting victim was active club member
Feb 13, 2023, 11:23 PM | Updated: 11:37 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Counselors were on hand Monday at the Spence Eccles Boys & Girls Club, located at 141 N. 600 West, after staff learned one of their own was shot and killed over the weekend.
Police say Saturday night, the 17-year-old boy was killed near 1600 West and Ivy Circle in Salt Lake City. The suspected shooter, a 14-year-old boy, was taken into custody two days later near 300 East and 700 South.
Amanda Ree Hughes, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, said losing an active club member in such a tragic way has been hard on everyone.
“This loss hit us hard. It’s one of our own, one of our kids that have been coming to our clubs,” Hughes said. “We’re all hurting, quite honestly.”
Hughes said many of the 300 children who frequent the club have sadly been impacted by violence in their lives.
“It is not unusual, but it is always tragic,” Hughes said. “These kids have seen violence in their homes, in their communities, affect their friends, their families or cousins, and we try to provide ways for them to cope and ways for them to come together.”
Boys & Girls Clubs serve as a home away from home and a place to get off the streets, Hughes said.
“We stand on the bridge between school and home in the after-school space. We surround them with supportive adult role models and enrichment activities where they can just come and be a kid. We provide them with an alternative for a safer path forward,” she said.
Hughes said the club staff also know of the suspected shooter. They are continuing to support all the families impacted by this incident.