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Who are Sione Vatuvei and Vaea Tulikihihifo? 2 killed in deadly Salt Lake City church shooting
At least eight people were shot in the incident at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, of which two have been killed.
Sione Vatuvei and Vaea Tulikihihifo have been identified as the two victims in the deadly shooting at a Salt Lake City church yesterday. As per the police, eight people were shot in the incident at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 660 North Redwood Road.
A funeral was reportedly taking place at the meetinghouse, when an altercation broke out in the parking lot, leading to the shooting. Authorities have not yet made any arrests, but have claimed to have ‘solid leads’. They are reportedly looking for more than one vehicle that left the scene, with cops searching from Redwood Road to the Jordan River for a gray passenger vehicle they believed was involved, as per a local report.
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Who are Sione Vatuvei and Vaea Tulikihihifo?
Sione Vatuvei was 38 years old, and came from Glendale, Utah. He was a social media content creator. A family member remembered Vatuvei, telling ABC4, “He was becoming a light. He was… paving a way to those who might’ve had addictions of any type of problem.”
While not much is known about Vaea Tulikihihifo, he was 46 years old, and a resident of Utah as well.
Authorities added that while five of the victims were being treated, one had been released. The police said they do not believe this to be a targeted attack.
Update on the shooting
Police Chief Brian Redd said it was a ‘complicated crime scene’. It is to be understood that authorities have made several detentions in connection to the case, but they don't believe the alleged shooters to be in custody. While the total number of shooters is unknown, authorities believe there was more than one.
The police chief shared during the news conference that some people had been ‘less than cooperative’ during the investigation and urged anyone with information to reach out to authorities at 801-799-3000.
