Professional bull rider killed in domestic dispute following competition at Utah State Fair, police say

A professional bull rider from Texas was gunned down by his on-and-off girlfriend shortly after competing in an event at the Utah State Fair, police said.

Demetrius Omar Lateef Allen was found shot outside an apartment complex in Salt Lake City just after midnight on Monday. The 27-year-old athlete was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, according the Salt Lake City Police Department.

“After developing a plan, officers safely took the suspect, LaShawn Denise Bagley, into custody,” police said Monday.

Officers found Demetrius Omar Lateef Allen (pictured), known professionally as Ouncie Mitchell, with “at least one gunshot wound” outside an apartment complex in Salt Lake City just after midnight on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, Salt Lake City Police said in a news release.

Prior to the violence, Allen traveled from his native Texas to Salt Lake City and planned to stay with Bagley there. He participated in a bull riding competition at the Utah State Fair on Sunday night and then went to a bar in the downtown area, where he was spotted fighting with Bagley.

As Allen collected his belongings from Bagley’s apartment, gunfire broke out. The 21-year-old suspect has since been booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on charges of Murder and Felony Discharge of a Firearm.

Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason said Allen was better known by his bull-riding name, “Ouncie Mitchell.”

“Ouncie was a talented cowboy and a familiar face on the Velocity Tour,” he wrote on Facebook. “He also competed — and won — in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, whose president Valeria Howard-Cunningham shares our grief. Ouncie got his name because he was born small. He grew up to compete with a huge heart.”