Two weeks after after a shooting outside a Salt Lake City Latter-day Saint meetinghouse left two dead and six injured, authorities have arrested a second man they say obstructed their investigation.
Salt Lake City police arrested the 22-year-old man Wednesday evening, a week after they made their first arrest in the high-profile case. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name people who have been arrested until prosecutors have filed charges.
The shooting occurred during a memorial service at the Rose Park 5th Ward meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 660 N. Redwood Road, where the Riverside 2nd Ward also gathers. Police identified the two men who died as 38-year-old Sione Vatuvei and 46-year-old Vaea Tulikihihifo.
Police say the man they arrested Wednesday “closely matches” witness descriptions of a driver who dropped off two men who were injured in the shooting at a hospital. The same vehicle was seen leaving the church shortly after the shooting, according to arrest documents.
The man who police arrested on Wednesday has “reported involvement” with the Tongan Crip Gang, authorities said in arrest documents. The 32-year-old man police arrested on Jan. 13 also had “reported involvement” with the gang, authorities said at the time.
Police Chief Brian Redd said Jan. 8 that there were indications that people at the scene of the shooting were potentially involved in gang activity, but that investigators did not know the cause of the violence.
Police found the 22-year-old after they traced the vehicle that was seen at the church to a home in West Jordan. The vehicle’s license plates were removed and its GPS system was torn out, and the man was seen at the home cleaning the inside of the vehicle, arrest documents state.
The license plates and GPS system were also found by investigators in the garage at the home where the man was seen cleaning the vehicle, authorities said.
Once the man was detained, he refused to speak with detectives about the shooting, arrest documents state.
The man, whom authorities said does not live in Utah, is being held without bail at the Salt Lake County jail.
Police say they are still actively investigating the shooting, adding that they have been hindered by a lack of cooperation from multiple people. Redd has said investigators were searching for more than one shooter.