SALT LAKE CITY — A fatal shooting outside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church parking lot on Wednesday night left two people dead and six others injured, police said.
The incident happened outside the church in Salt Lake City, where police said the shooting erupted from a dispute between people who knew each other and were attending a funeral. On Thursday, police said five of the injured remained hospitalized with police protection.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said police do not believe the shooting was random or motivated by animus against the church. “Our houses of worship are sacred, whatever the affiliation,” Redd said Thursday. “We should all protect those spaces. We should all respect those spaces.”
Investigators said they faced obstacles while trying to piece together what happened, including uncooperative witnesses. Police said they did not know whether the shooting was gang-related, and that no arrests had been made as of early Thursday evening.
Police said they were reviewing license plate readers and surveillance videos from nearby businesses as part of the search for suspects. About 100 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene in the aftermath, and helicopters flew overhead.
The two people killed were identified by police as Vaea Tulikihihifo, 46, and Sione Vatuvei, 38. Police said all the victims were adults.
The church was cooperating with law enforcement and said it was grateful for first responders’ quick efforts. In a statement, church spokesperson Sam Penrod said, “We extend prayers for all who have been impacted by this tragedy and express deep concern that any sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence of any kind.”
Residents who lived nearby described hearing gunshots and rushing to help. Brennan McIntire said he heard loud gunshots from his apartment next to the church parking lot while watching television and ran outside, saying, “As soon as I came over, I see someone on the ground.” He added, “People are attending to him and crying and arguing.”
His wife, Kenna McIntire, said she was rattled after seeing first responders lifting an unconscious woman into an ambulance while people around them sobbed and argued. She said it was “really heartbreaking to hear and see.”
The AP reported the church is a red-brick building in northwest Salt Lake City that mostly serves Tongan congregants and holds regular worship services in their native tongue, according to the church’s website. The report also said missionaries first arrived in Tonga in the early 1890s and that the church’s presence there has grown to tens of thousands of members across hundreds of congregations, according to the website and commentary from U.S. religious history scholar Matthew Bowman.
Local authorities said Latter-day Saints have been on heightened alert since four people were killed in a September attack at a church in Michigan. The FBI found that attacker was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against the church.