The Springville Police Department on Thursday released details about the third shooting in the city, and fourth in Utah County, over the last week. Krista Mortensen, a 33-year-old resident of the city, has been arrested on multiple felonies, including murder, and is currently booked into the Utah County Jail.

According to a press release, emergency services arrived to assist an elderly man regarding a medical condition around 11 a.m. Medical personnel found the man, identified as 75-year-old Michael Huff, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Huff is the step-father of Mortensen, who police booked after reportedly being “uncooperative” on the scene.

According to Lt. Warren Foster, there was nobody else in the home at the time of the shooting. He added that Mortensen was known to the Springville police and has had interactions with law enforcement in the past.

According to the release, Mortensen has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony; obstruction, a second-degree felony; and possession of firearm by restricted person, a third-degree felony.

While the investigation is ongoing, the Springville police are working with the Utah County Attorney’s Office.

The shooting of Huff comes after 17-year-old Lily Conroy was allegedly shot by her ex-boyfriend in what was called then an apparent “murder/suicide.” The incident occurred May 18 and Conroy has since passed away, according to KSL.

On Saturday, Gregory Shaffer was shot and killed in his home doorway. Hunter Lamoreaux was charged with murder on Wednesday in relation to the shooting. Lamoreaux was allegedly a former acquaintance of Shaffer. “Hunter was upset regarding a pending divorce and custody battle between the victim and his estranged wife,” according to court documents.

Despite the relative frequency of the shootings, Foster told the Daily Herald there is no correlation.

“I can definitely see how people can see this as a pattern, but this is an extraordinarily odd event. None of them are related, none of them can be deemed as copycats. It’s just bad timing for three very awful incidents. There is no correlation between any of them,” he said.

Moving forward, he added that the department will be continuing and increasing community-oriented policing practices. Foster said the department is out in the streets talking to people and working to prevent more incidents in the future — whether through education or other practices.

“It could come down to firearm education, it could come down to educating families on complacency with where they put their firearms. But we can’t stop people from buying them,” he said.

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