Two people killed in shooting outside Mormon church in Salt Lake City, United States | Gun violence news

While the manhunt is ongoing, police do not believe the attack was random, but it is also unlikely to be an attack on religion.

Two people were killed and several injured in a shooting in the parking lot of a Mormon church in Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, United States.

Police said the shooting happened Wednesday in the parking lot of a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where dozens of people were attending a funeral.

Three of the six injured victims are in critical condition.

Police confirmed no suspects were in custody and launched a manhunt, with the FBI apparently offering to help.

While police said they did not believe the shooting was random, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd told the Associated Press news agency that it did not appear to be a targeted attack on any religion.

Church spokesman Glen Mills told reporters there were signs of a fight outside the church, where the funeral was taking place.

“In the parking lot, there was some sort of altercation. [place] and that’s when shots were fired,” he said.

Around a hundred law enforcement vehicles were on site, accompanied by helicopters flying over the scene.

“As soon as I got there, I saw someone on the ground… People were tending to him and crying and arguing,” said Brennan McIntire, a local resident who spoke to AP.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said, “This should never have happened outside of a place of worship. This should never have happened outside of a celebration of life.”

The church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is cooperating with law enforcement.

About half of Utah’s 3.5 million residents are members of the faith. Churches like the one where the shooting took place can be found in towns across the city and state.

The faith has been on high alert since four people were killed when a former Marine opened fire in a Michigan church last month and set it on fire.

The FBI found he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against the Church.

About 82% of mass shootings committed in the United States in 2025 involved a gun, according to a study. database maintained by AP alongside USA Today and Northeastern University.

The Salt Lake City shooting happened in the middle growing unrest in the United States, after a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, amid ongoing protests against immigration crackdowns.