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Twin teen brothers both struck in Kearns church shooting — one killed, the other hospitalized, family says

The brothers, according to a GoFundMe, had just graduated from high school this spring.

(GoFundMe) Vilisoni "Soni" Angilau was killed and his twin brother, Vita Angilau, was shot and injured during a shooting on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 while attending a funeral in Kearns.

(GoFundMe) Vilisoni "Soni" Angilau was killed and his twin brother, Vita Angilau, was shot and injured during a shooting on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 while attending a funeral in Kearns.

Family members say two of the people shot outside a Latter-day Saint church in Kearns on Monday were 18-year-old twin brothers.

Vilisoni “Soni” Angilau was killed at the scene; relatives say he was an “innocent onlooker” shot during a confrontation, according to an online fundraiser posted by family.. His brother, Vita Angilau, was also struck and is currently hospitalized with critical injuries, the page states.

The twins, according to the page, had just graduated from high school this spring.

“In the midst of deep grief over the loss of Soni, the family is also staying by Vita’s side and praying for his recovery,” the GoFundMe page states.

Investigators say gunfire erupted Monday outside a Kearns meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4066 W. 5015 South, where a funeral was being held.

The shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between two families, police said, though it is not clear if the twins were involved in that ongoing feud before shots rang out.

A 17-year-old is suspected of shooting the twins. He has not been identified by police because he is a minor. He was also critically injured.

Police also announced officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of murder and discharging a deadly weapon in connection to the shooting. Investigators say he handed a gun to his 17-year-old son, who then fired it during the fight.

Authorities have not said the father fired the gun. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name people who are arrested unless they are formally charged with a crime.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police investigate a shooting that occurred outside a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kearns, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.

After the father allegedly handed his son a gun, police say the 17-year-old then fired it, striking Vita Angilau twice, according to information in the father’s probable cause statement and the family’s GoFundMe.

Police said the other twin, Vilisoni Angilau, then rushed the son, took the gun, fired it and struck the teenager, a witness told investigators.

That’s when police say the father tackled Vilisoni Angilau, whom police say his son also shot.

The father and son left the scene, according to police, but were later stopped and the father was taken into custody. The 17-year-old remains hospitalized.

Police have not shared any details about the funeral they were attending, but a flyer posted to Facebook said a service for Ofa’tangikivaha Angilau was scheduled for the Kearns meetinghouse at the time of Monday’s shooting. He was killed in an Aug. 7 shooting at a Riverton gas station.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police investigate a shooting that occurred outside a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kearns, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.

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