The shooting outside a Utah church grew out of a dispute between funeral goers, police say
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators say: shooting outside church building The incident, which killed two people and injured six people in Salt Lake City, resulted from an argument between people who knew each other and attended the funeral. No arrests were made in the shooting Wednesday in the parking lot of a house of worship belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Authorities said they did not know whether the shooting was gang-related and were having difficulty finding witnesses who would cooperate. Five people remained hospitalized under police guard at these facilities on Thursday.
“We are investigating the cause and reason for the gunshots,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said Thursday morning. All of the shooting victims were adults. Police said at least three of the injured were in critical condition. Vaea Tulikaninifo, 46, was one of the two people killed.
Police said they did not believe the attack was random or motivated by hostility towards the faith.
The red-brick church in the northwestern Salt Lake City neighborhood serves mostly Tongan congregants and holds regular worship services in their native language, according to its website.
Hearing the gunshots, residents of a low-income housing complex next to the church flocked outside to help victims and console dozens of people attending the funeral of a person police have not identified.
Brennan McIntire said he and his wife, Kenna, were watching television from their apartment next to the church parking lot when they heard several loud gunshots. He jumped off the couch and ran outside in flip-flops to see what was happening.
“When I arrived, I saw someone on the ground,” he said. “People care about it, cry and argue about it.”
Kenna McIntire came out a short time later and was shaken to see first responders loading an unconscious woman into an ambulance while people gathered and cried.
The couple said they hear gunshots in their neighborhood almost every day, but never on their doorstep.
“It was truly heartbreaking to hear and see,” he said.
After the incident, approximately 100 police vehicles arrived at the scene and helicopters flew overhead. Neighbors were huddled in blankets next to a taco truck, watching officers work and awaiting developments.
Police said they reviewed license plate readers and surveillance video from nearby businesses as they searched for the suspects.
“This should never have happened outside of a house of worship. This should never have happened outside of a celebration of life,” Mayor Erin Mendenhall said.
The church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, was cooperating with law enforcement and said it was grateful for the quick efforts of first responders.
“We pray for everyone affected by this tragedy and express our deep concern that any sacred site for worship should be subject to any form of violence,” church spokesman Sam Penrod said.
About half of Utah’s 3.5 million residents are members of this religion. Houses of worship similar to those where the shooting occurred are located in neighborhoods around the city and state.
The faith has been on high alert since four people were killed in an attack by a former sailor. Shots opened at church in Michigan He set it on fire in September. The FBI found that he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against Latter-day Saints.
