Third man arrested in connection with fatal shooting in Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY – A third man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in the parking lot of a Salt Lake City warehouse where a party was taking place on May 26.

Nhial Mawut Buk, 19, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of murder, 13 counts of discharging a firearm causing serious bodily injury, failure to stop for police and obstruction of justice.

Two other men, 21-year-old Nay Blu Soe of Magna and 19-year-old Abdihakim Abdullahi Mohamed of Salt Lake City, were charged Friday in 3rd District Court with murder and 13 counts of shooting a person with great bodily injury (a first-degree felony) and obstruction of justice (a second-degree felony).

On May 26, Salt Lake City police were called to 1810 W. Fortune Road to investigate a shooting “at a warehouse after-party,” according to charging documents. When they arrived, they found 30-year-old Nico Christopher Patino lying on the ground in the parking lot with numerous gunshot wounds.

Witnesses told police: “Nico had left the warehouse (with a woman) and (they) were standing in the parking lot when a silver Chrysler pulled up in front of them. Nico got into an argument with the driver, who grabbed something from his belt with his right hand and began shooting at Nico,” the indictment states.

A police affidavit continued: “While the victim was speaking with the driver of the car, several coordinated shooters on foot and in the vehicle shot at the victim.”

Detectives gathering evidence as part of the investigation were given cellphone video taken at a residence the night before the shooting. The videos show several people at a barbecue, including Buk and at least one of the other men arrested earlier, the affidavit said.

Buk was taken into custody after being spotted by a police officer. He attempted to flee but was eventually caught, the affidavit states. When questioned, he “denied ever having been to an after-party or warehouse after-party.”

When investigators told him that two other men who were his friends had already been arrested, Buk asked for the name. When the officer gave him the name of one of the other men, “Buk demanded an attorney and the interview was terminated,” the affidavit states. He was then taken to the Salt Lake County Jail.

Salt Lake Police confirm that Buk is the brother of Buk Mawut Buk, who was convicted in 2021 of killing University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe. He is also the brother of Deng Mawut Buk, who is charged with murder along with two other men for shooting a man outside a sneaker convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in 2022.