Naod Welday, an 18-year-old Black male who was born in Eritrea, was with friends in the parking lot of the Mount Olympus trailhead in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the pre-dawn hours of August 3, 2024. At around 4:30 a.m., as Welday, his cousin, and a friend stood outside their car, two men approached them. The men questioned the group about gang affiliation, asking if they "rep?" and "want to gang bang?" When the friends insisted they were not involved with gangs, one of the men punched Welday's cousin in the face. The cousin ran from the parking lot and hid.
The attackers got into two cars and began circling the area, apparently searching for the friend who had fled. From his hiding spot, the friend, who had the keys to their Hyundai, called Welday and told him and their other friend to get back in the car and lock the doors. Soon after, four males returned to the Hyundai. While trapped inside, Welday called 911.
The chilling audio captured the sounds of the men pounding on the car, the windows shattering, and the victims screaming as they were attacked. The assailants broke the windows to force their way inside. Welday, who was in the driver's seat, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. His friend in the passenger seat was struck in the head with a hammer but managed to escape, rolling down a retaining wall and running to a nearby neighborhood for help.
Arriving deputies found Welday deceased. Investigators quickly determined that while the suspects were documented members of the Florencia 13 gang, Welday and his friends had no gang ties. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera stated they were likely "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Evidence left at the scene, including a baseball hat and a palm print, along with cell phone data, led police to make a series of arrests.
Ultimately, five people were charged in connection with the murder. Mateo Heriberto Martinez, 20; Alex Daniel Ruiz-Martinez, 19; Christian De La Rosa, 17; and Joshua Arthur Mielke, 16, were all charged as adults with crimes including murder, aggravated kidnapping, and felony discharge of a firearm, with gang enhancements. A fifth suspect, who was 15 at the time, was charged in juvenile court. In a related development, three other individuals were later charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly hiding a vehicle used in the attack.
In February 2026, the co-defendant who was 15 at the time of his arrest was convicted of murder, aggravated assault, and felony discharge of a firearm. Co-defendants Mateo Heriberto Martinez, Alex Daniel Ruiz-Martinez, and Christian De La Rosa pleaded not guilty to their charges. As of that month, their trial was scheduled to begin in June 2026.
