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OREM — It was a terrifying scene for residents of an Orem student apartment complex as people ran for their lives after gunfire on the third floor early Saturday morning.
"I thought they were fireworks or something someone set off in the hallway," said Ryan Busi.
In video sent to KSL-TV, a man is seen backing up while facing a small group before pulling out a handgun and firing at least two shots. Busi lives down the hall from where the shooting happened.
"My roommate, he burst into the door and told me that someone had been shot," Busi recalled. "Kind of freaked me out a little bit. He was like, 'We need to get out now, just leave the apartment.'"
Busi and his roommate started running outside their building at the Axis Apartments near 800 South and 1370 West. Busi said it happened so fast that he forgot his shoes.
"Everyone else was in like a manic, crazy episode. Lots of people yelling, lots of people crying and freaking out," Busi said. "And then at the bottom of the stairs, right when you leave the door, there's a bunch of glass all over the floor."
And as they walked out of the building, Orem police arrived at the scene.
"I was at gunpoint, walking. You know the normal commands, 'Keep your hands up. Walk slowly towards us,'" Busi said.
Frightening moments in the apartments Busi just moved into a few weeks ago. But he was grateful the police were there so fast.
"I definitely felt a lot safer, just knowing that, like, 'Hey, this happened,' and right like that, they were there on the scene," Busi said.
The suspect was in the apartment hallway before shots were fired.
Busi says he could see one man being carried out on a stretcher and another with a bruise on his leg. Witnesses say his cellphone in his pants pocket blocked the bullet that would have otherwise hit him.
"It shot his phone and bounced off. So his phone was totaled, but he just had a bruise underneath," Busi said. "It was really surreal."
Orem police said Saturday that they were still searching for the man responsible, though they believe the incident was isolated and that no one else is at risk.
Busi said hours before the shooting, there had been a party on the sixth floor, but then a group moved down to the third floor where he lived, and the argument erupted.
Jake Jarman with Redstone Residential, the company that manages Axis Apartments, said they are keeping in close contact with police.
"Safety and our residents are paramount and most important to us," Jarman said. "It's obviously very concerning that something like this happened," Jarman said.
Axis Apartments also provided this statement to residents:
"As you may be aware, an incident occurred early this morning on the premises. Property management team members were alerted and responded to a group of individuals trespassing and causing a disturbance. When asked to leave, one of the trespassers produced a handgun and fired two shots. One resident was injured. The resident was immediately treated and is recovering at Utah Valley Hospital, and is in good spirits. Redstone Residential and Axis Luxury Living place the highest priority on the safety and security of our residents and their guests. We will provide additional information as it becomes available."
The Orem police department says the two victims who received treatment are expected to fully recover.
Police ask if you have any information on this incident, call Orem police at 801-229-7070.
