SALT LAKE CITY — Two people were killed and six others were injured in a shooting outside of a Mormon church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred in the back parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse while mourners were attending a memorial service. All of the victims were adults.
Three of the wounded victims were in critical condition, Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson Glen Mills said. The condition of the other three victims was not immediately known because they were taken to area hospitals in private vehicles, he said.
Two people were killed and six were injured in a shooting outside a Salt Lake City church where a memorial service was held Wednesday night, according to Salt Lake City police.
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The shooting occurred at the Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The initial call came in around 7:30 p.m. MT.
Salt Lake City police Chief Brian Redd said the shooting did not appear to be a random act.
“We don’t believe this was a targeted attack against a religion or anything like that,” Redd told reporters. “We don’t believe, at this point, that this was random.”
No arrests have been made. Redd said that several people were detained for questioning but none had been considered a suspect.
“We are following all leads,” he said. “Our officers are working hard, and we will work until we bring these individuals to justice.”
“Our condolences continue to grow, and we know that this impacts not only those victims and their families, the community that was at the church, but the entire community here in Salt Lake City and on the West Side,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said during a news conference. “This should never have happened outside a place of worship. This should never have happened at a celebration of life.”
The church, located in northwest Salt Lake City, mostly serves Tongan congregants and holds regular services in their native tongue, according to the church’s website.
Susi Feltch-Malohifo’ou, CEO of one of Utah’s largest Pacific Islander organizations — Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources — said her phone had been flooded with messages about the shooting.
She said she knew several of the individuals who were shot, she said, but she was unsure of their conditions.
Many members of the Pacific Islander and Latter-day Saint communities in the area were attending a memorial service for an individual, Feltch-Malohifo’ou said, when the shooting occurred outside the church, which serves mainly Tongan congregants.
“Condolences to the family,” Feltch-Malohifo’ou said. “This is a tragedy in our community.”
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