SALT LAKE CITY – A 22-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe at a party was charged Wednesday with aggravated murder and other counts.
Lowe, 21, died at a late-September house party just hours after the team defeated Washington State University. The shooting happened after an argument involving Lowe and another group who would not move out of the way of his car so he could go home, charges state.
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Buk M. Buk was charged with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, possession of a firearm by a restricted person and obstruction of justice. The first charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The shooting happened after uninvited guests, including Buk, arrived at the party and the host started asking people to leave, charges state. Neighbors had also called in noise complaints to 911.
A woman named Fuamoli Pomale, 20, had been trying to wind down the fight when Buk grabbed a gun from another man at the party and starting shooting, charges state.
Pomale was also shot in the chest and neck, damaging her spinal cord and other soft tissues, which have made her unable to speak, authorities said. She instead typed her answers to investigators’ questions or answered with non-verbal gestures, according to court records.
Lowe, a cornerback from Mesquite, Texas, died nine months after his friend and fellow Texas native, running back Ty Jordan, died in an accidental shooting on Christmas 2020.
It is unclear if Buk has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.