Adam Jacob Rogers, a sophomore in pre-mining engineering, is recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained early Sunday morning.
The Daily Utah Chronicle incorrectly reported March 3 that Rogers lived in a duplex on 1316 E. Westminster Ave (1800 South), where the shooting occurred on “his porch,” according to Salt Lake City police. However, his father, Dana Rogers, said the student was only visiting the residence and was shot as he was leaving.
“It was my girlfriend’s sister’s house,” Adam Rogers said. “I was just there hanging out.”
According to the police, a silver car, either a Subaru or a BMW hatchback, drove by the duplex at about 2:45 a.m. Rogers, who was stepping out onto the front porch, was shot by the first round in the face and neck, according to the police. The shot knocked Rogers onto the ground, and as he rolled over onto his back, someone in the car shot him again in the back, he said.
“I didn’t even know I was shot until the second one,” he said. “The intention was clear that they wanted to kill me.”
Rogers said he has no idea who shot him.
He was rushed to the University Hospital in stable but serious condition, said Chris Nelson, a spokesman for U Health Care. As of Tuesday afternoon, his condition was upgraded to fair, said Ryann Rasmussen, a spokeswoman for U Health Care. The pellets missed his brain by half an inch, Rogers said.
“I’m very lucky, but also very unlucky,” he said. Tons of friends and family have dropped by in the last few days to see him and leave gifts and their condolences to get well soon, he said.
Police suspect that Rogers might have been in a fight earlier that night at a separate party and the shooting carried over to his new location. However, Rogers said he was not in a fight. He said that the guests at the earlier party were becoming hostile with each other around midnight, which he took as his cue to leave.
Rogers said he could not remember the location of the earlier party, and that he did not know anyone there.
Police are still searching for the shooters and have not made public any developments since the shooting, said Lara Jones, spokeswoman for Salt Lake City police. Anyone with information can call the Salt Lake City police at 801-799-3000.