Three people are in critical condition. The condition of three others is unknown.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Onlookers watch as police investigate a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
Two people were killed and six were injured in a shooting outside a Salt Lake City church where a memorial service was held Wednesday night, according to Salt Lake City police.
Of the six injured, three are in critical condition, Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson Glen Mills said. The condition of the three others was not known because they were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, he said. The initial call came in around 7:30 p.m.
The shooting occurred at the Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 660 N. Redwood Road, where Riverside 2nd Ward also gathers.
The shooter or shooters then fled north on Redwood Road, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said. There was no suspect in custody as of 10 p.m
All eight people were shot outside the church and all are adults, Redd said. Police do not believe the shooting was a “targeted attack” against the faith, he said, or that it was random.
Officers were looking at surveillance video from nearby businesses and license plate readers on Redwood Road and 700 North, Redd said.
Redwood Road remains closed in the vicinity of the church, with police urging people to stay away from the area.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police investigate a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
The two wards that meet at the church are Tongan, according to the meetinghouse website. Susi Feltch-Malohifo’ou, CEO of one of Utah’s largest Pacific Islander organizations — Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources — said her phone has been flooded with messages about the shooting.
She knows several of the individuals who were shot, she said, but she was unsure of their conditions.
Many members of the Pacific Islander and Latter-day Saint communities in the area were attending a memorial service for an individual, Feltch-Malohifo’ou said, when the shooting occurred outside the church, which serves mainly Tongan congregants.
“Condolences to the family,” Feltch-Malohifo’ou said. “This is a tragedy in our community.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police respond to a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
The nonprofit she leads, often referred to by its abbreviation as PIK2AR, has been focused on violence prevention, including trying to eliminate gangs within Utah’s Polynesian communities. She said it’s too early to know if that was a factor in the shooting Wednesday night.
“As much as we’ve been working on violence prevention, we can see that there’s still a lot of work to be done in this area,” she said. “Violence is never the answer.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Onlookers watch as police investigate a shooting at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
Sam Penrod, a spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a statement that the church was “aware of a serious incident that occurred outside a Church meetinghouse at 660 North Redwood Road in Salt Lake City tonight as a memorial service was being held in the chapel.”
The church is cooperating with law enforcement, the statement said, “and is grateful for the efforts of first responders.”
The statement concluded: “We extend prayers for all who have been impacted by this tragedy and express deep concern that any sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence of any kind.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police respond to a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
Hillary Koeller, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Public Safety, and Brady McCarron, the deputy chief of the office of public affairs for the United States Marshals Service also confirmed the shooting to The Salt Lake Tribune Wednesday night.
McCarron said marshals happened to be in the area at the time of the shooting and came to the scene to assist SLCPD, but were not involved in any investigation.
Utah, overall, has a large Pacific Islander population, with 60,000 identified residents in the state, according to 2020 U.S. Census data. That’s 1.6% of the total state population.
Tongans make up the largest share of the group — at 39% of the total Pacific Islanders in Utah, according to the data.
In Salt Lake County, Pacific Islanders are 2.4% of the population.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police respond to a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
