In the early morning hours of December 6, 2020, the life of 23-year-old Miguel Angel Prado Burciaga, a Hispanic male, was tragically cut short in Salt Lake City, Utah. The young man, known affectionately by friends and family as "Smerk" or "Pol," was fatally shot. The incident occurred just before 4:00 a.m. at the Milagro Apartments, a downtown residential building. When police responded to reports of gunfire, they discovered Prado and a woman in her twenties with gunshot wounds.
Both were rushed to a nearby hospital, but Prado succumbed to his injuries.
Remembered as an energetic and fun-loving individual with a constant smile, Prado was a cherished son, brother, and father to a young boy. His death left a profound void in the lives of his family and a wide circle of friends who recalled him as a generous and dependable person, always ready with a joke. His family was left to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of a man described as the life of the party.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Salt Lake City police identified two individuals they wished to speak with in connection with the homicide. The persons of interest were named as 22-year-old Lennyn Barios-Peralta and 19-year-old Andrea Martina Velez. Authorities released their names and photographs to the public in the hopes of gathering more information about the events that transpired inside the apartment building.
Despite the public identification of Barios-Peralta and Velez as persons of interest, publicly available information has not detailed any subsequent arrests or the filing of charges in connection with the death of Miguel Angel Prado. The circumstances leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victims and the persons of interest have not been officially disclosed. The investigation into Prado's death left his community seeking answers and justice for a life taken too soon.
