Not long after Salt Lake City police peeled back the crime scene tape from a Latter-day Saint chapel Thursday morning, the leader of one of the meetinghouse’s congregations returned, surveying the damage and watching for church members who would later arrive.
The lay bishop, who presides over the Riverside 2nd Ward, said he had been unable to sleep Wednesday night after two people — 38-year-old Sione Vatuvei and 46-year-old Vaea Tulikihihifo — were killed and six others were injured in a shooting in the parking lot of the chapel at 660 N. Redwood Road.
Concerned with privacy in the shooting’s aftermath, the bishop asked that The Salt Lake Tribune not use his name.
Police say they were called to the Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at roughly 7:30 p.m. Wednesday while a memorial service took place inside. The Riverside 2nd Ward also worships at the building. The church identifies both as Tongan wards, or congregations.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police at the site of a Wednesday night shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
The bishop didn’t notice any gunshots during the service, he said, but did hear people scrambling to get inside. He said he made his way to the parking lot just in time to see two vehicles take off.
Then he saw the victims of the shooting lying in the parking lot, and he and others tried to help them.
Remnants of a crime scene
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Standing in sandals and khakis in the parking lot not long after 7:30 a.m. Thursday, he greeted people as they arrived at the meetinghouse. A few were quick to leave after retrieving their cars, which they had been unable to take from the scene the night before.
Many stuck around, however, talking and hugging. Some made their way around the parking lot, examining what remained from the night before.
Marks of the shooting were scattered across the scene, as were roughly 30 small white circles police had drawn around the parking lot in the course of their investigation.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The site of a shooting at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Jordan Meadows neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Decorations from the memorial service could still be seen inside the church through windows, and the body of the man whom the memorial service was meant to honor still sat in the hearse parked near the chapel’s doors, the bishop said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Items inside a Salt Lake City meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where a shooting occurred the night before.
The bishop pointed out a bullet hole in his office window. About 50 feet away sat a car that also bore a hole in its front, along with a flat tire.
Police say the shooting stemmed from a dispute between people who were at the memorial service. They have stressed that the shooting was not an attack on the Latter-day Saint faith and that they believe it was not random.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A bullet hole in the window of the bishop's office at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
The bishop said the church had sent counselors to the chapel at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, making them available to ward members who wanted to speak about what they experienced. He said the church let him know Thursday that he could continue to refer people to the counselors.
(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.
Tongan Latter-day Saints
Asked how his congregation would react to the shooting, he said he didn’t know. He added that he could not think of anything like this that has hit the Tongan community here before.
Utah has seven Tongan-speaking Latter-day Saint stakes, according to independent researcher Matt Martinich, who tracks such data for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com.
Four of the Tongan stakes are in Salt Lake County, and three in Utah County. Each stake, a regional designation, includes multiple congregations (known as wards or branches).
In Salt Lake County, there are 32 Tongan wards, but the total in the state could be as high as 100, Martinich said Thursday. “The number of Tongan wards and branches in Utah has grown significantly over the last couple of decades.”
Though most Tongan Latter-day Saints in Utah speak English, he said, some “prefer to worship in their native language.”
No threat to public
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd gives an update on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, to the previous night’s shooting at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Salt Lake City.
As the morning grew late, the bishop remained at the church as people began removing what appeared to be decor from the memorial service.
Police said they believe no threat exists to the public.
Of the six people who were injured in the shooting, five were being treated while one had been released.