The shooting outside a Utah church grew out of a dispute between funeral goers, police say
People hug each other after a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators say a shooting outside a church building in Salt Lake City that killed two people and injured six others grew out of a dispute between people who knew each other and were attending a funeral. No arrests have been made in Wednesday's shooting in the parking lot of a house of worship for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. Authorities say they do not know whether the shooting was gang-related and that they are having trouble getting witnesses to cooperate. Five people remained hospitalized Thursday, with police protection at those facilities.
“We are looking into the reason and cause for the gunfire,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said Thursday morning. All the shooting victims were adults. At least three of the injured were in critical condition, police said. Vaea Tulikaninifo, 46, was one of the two people killed.
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