A memorial service turned into a killing ground. Sirens drowned out hymns. Families ran from the very steps where they had come to say goodbye. Two people dead. Six more bleeding on the pavement outside a Salt Lake City Latter-day Saint meetinghouse. The shooter vanished into the night, leaving a terrified Tongan commun… Continues…

They had gathered to mourn one loss and left carrying many more. Outside the Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse, grief-stricken families were suddenly thrown into a nightmare of gunfire, screams and flashing lights. Leaders in Utah’s Pacific Islander community rushed to the scene, fielding frantic calls, trying to learn which loved ones were alive, which were hurt, and which were gone forever.

As detectives combed surveillance footage and detained witnesses, city leaders vowed justice, but their words could not quiet the shock. A place meant for worship and remembrance had been pierced by violence that felt both targeted and senseless. In the Tongan wards that share the building, prayers shifted from honoring the dead to begging for the survival of the wounded. The community now faces the long, uncertain work of healing, even as fear lingers over a sanctuary no longer guaranteed safe.