Fatal Shooting at Salt Lake City Memorial Service

Good morning. I am Cole Mercer. We are starting today with a developing and really heavy security situation out of Salt Lake City, Utah, where a mass shooting at a place of worship has left two people dead. And I am Claire Donovan. This is Neural Newscast. This incident took place Wednesday night, right outside a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood. It was actually during a memorial service. Right. A According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, those initial emergency calls came in around 7.30 p.m. from the Rose Park Fifth Ward Meeting House on North Redwood Road. Two adults were killed, and, I mean, six others were wounded. All of them were shot in the parking lot outside the building. You know, Cole, the community impact here is just massive. This specific meeting house serves two Tongan congregations. Susie Felch Maluhi Faul, who leads the nonprofit Pacific Island Knowledge to Action Resources, says her phone has been just flooded with messages from community members who knew the victims. Yeah, it's devastating. In terms of the response, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Red has stated that at least three of the survivors remain in critical condition. Three others were actually transported to the hospital by private vehicles. The suspects fled the scene heading north on Redwood Road, and as of the latest reports, no one is in custody. Hmm. and the nonprofit you mentioned Cole has been heavily involved in violence prevention and addressing gang activity within Utah's Polynesian communities. While they say it is definitely too early to determine if those factors played a role here, the community is just grieving the violation of what should have been a sacred celebration of life. Totally. Chief Red has also clarified that investigators do not believe this was a random act of violence, nor do they believe it was a targeted attack against the Latter-day Saint faith. Police are currently analyzing surveillance footage from local businesses and utilizing license plate readers from the intersection of Redwood Road and 700 North. Mayor Aaron Mendenhall spoke at a late-night press conference emphasizing that violence should never happen outside a place of worship. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also issued a statement expressing deep concern and gratitude for the first responders who arrived on the scene. The United States Marshal Service was also in the area and provided immediate assistance. Though Salt Lake City Police remained the lead investigative agency, Claire, the scale of the response was just significant. Nearly 100 law enforcement vehicles were reportedly on the scene in the aftermath. It really was. As the search for the shooter or shooters continues, the Jordan Meadows neighborhood remains on high alert. Anyone with information is being urged to contact the authorities immediately. Thank you for joining us for this report. We will continue to monitor the investigation as it unfolds. This has been Cole Mercer and Claire Donovan. Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.