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Man charged with killing two members of the Ute Tribe

A federal warrant has been issued for the suspect’s arrest.

The Salt Lake Tribune

A federal warrant has been issued for a man charged with killing two other men on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in northwestern Utah.

Mathew Keenan Colorow Tapoof, whose last known address was in Fort Duchesne, was charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah with two counts of murder in the second degree while within Indian country, and one count of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to the charges, Tapoof shot and killed two men who were members of the Ute Tribe.

On Wednesday at about 2:30 a.m., according to a probable cause statement, Tapoof and the two men — whose names have not been released — were “involved in a physical confrontation.” The two men knocked Tapoof to the ground and were “beating on him.” Tapoof got up, went to his car, got a gun, came back and shot one of the men in the chest and the other man in the face. Both victims died at the scene.

Tapoof fled in his vehicle. He was later taken into custody and booked into the Utah County jail by the FBI, according to a Justice Department spokesman.

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