ST. GEORGE — The shooting death of a teen Wednesday evening is related to a beating incident that occurred in St. George just over a month ago, sources say.
As reported Thursday morning by St. George News, officers responded to a shooting reported at a residence on 2700 East in St. George at around 6 p.m. When they arrived, they found 18-year-old Skyler Armstrong inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital but died shortly thereafter.
Nicanor Vasquez-Mendoza and his girlfriend, Silvia Lopez, are tenants of the residence, and both were later arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder. Vasquez-Mendoza is being held on $500,000 bail, and Lopez is in custody on $35,000 bail.
According to multiple sources, Wednesday’s shooting is connected to a July 9 incident in which officers responded to a disorderly conduct/assault call at the Red Rock Ridge student housing complex in St. George. When police arrived, they found an 18-year-old man suffering from blunt force trauma to the back of his head. The teen was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center and was admitted to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
St. George Police’s SWAT team was called out and staged in the area of the Red Rock Ridge apartments, and a total of four individuals, both juveniles and adults, were taken into custody during the incident, but no arrests are known to have been made at that time.
Multiple sources have told St. George News that the teen who was assaulted during the July incident was Armstrong, the man who died of the gunshot wound Wednesday.
St. George Police would not comment on the reported connection between the incidents, as the investigation is ongoing.
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