Residents of one South Salt Lake City neighborhood are breathing a sigh of relief as a “guy who comes around here with a machete and stuff” has finally been stopped.
That “guy,” 68-year-old David Anthony Trujillo, had been lurking in the area, especially at night, sometimes carrying a large knife. Nobody knew where he lived, or if he even had an address – he was known to have stayed in various nearby hotels and motels.
“He’s been terrorizing people in the neighborhood,” said a resident who was within earshot when Trujillo was shot by a homeowner. “We’ve been scared to go outside at night.”
The shooting itself occurred around 8:30 on a Friday evening. Strange sounds in the (fenced and padlocked) backyard led the homeowner to investigate, at which point the confrontation with the knife-wielding man “escalated very quickly,” according to police public information officer Gary Keller.
The homeowner, who the police say has been very cooperative, was one of the first to call 911. Although the case has not yet been ruled as self-defense, he hasn’t yet been charged.
It’s good to know the neighbors are speaking out in support, and even better that the homeowner wasn’t defenseless when this nutcase trespassed on his property.