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After a deadly shooting at a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City, Utah leaders say they’re thankful for those protesters who remained peaceful and for the first responders who rushed to the scene Saturday night.
After the Saturday shooting, police said they arrested several people and that another was critically injured. On Sunday, however, police said the wounded person — a 39-year-old man and “innocent bystander participating in the demonstration” — had died. Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd told reporters the man was shot by one of two individuals in neon vests who, as potential members of the demonstrators’ security group, intervened when they saw a man with an assault rifle run toward the crowd.
Thousands of marchers were making their way across downtown during one of more than a dozen “No Kings” protests across Utah.
[Read the latest on the shooting in Saturday’s protest in downtown Salt Lake City.]
“The violence we’ve seen today in Salt Lake City and elsewhere in the country is horrific — it’s just not who we are,” Mayor Erin Mendenhall said shortly after the shooting on social media. “We deserve to feel safe, especially when exercising our First Amendment rights.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd, give a briefing just up the street from a shooting towards the end of the No Kings demonstration that had been peaceful until then, in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
The capital city mayor also expressed her appreciation for the Salt Lake City Police Department and its “quick action tonight to protect lives and support those marching peacefully.”
“My heart is with you, SLC,” she added. “We’ll get through this.”
Gov. Spencer Cox called the shooting “a deeply troubling act of violence and has no place in our public square.”
Later, Cox said he’d spoken with Mendenhall and that he was heartbroken for those impacted by the shooting:
“Thank you to the thousands of protesters who exercised their constitutional rights in the right way tonight,” Cox added. “I’m grateful to security, SLCPD, DPS, and medical personnel who jumped into action to protect lives.”
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown also said, “Violence has no place here in Utah.”
“I’m deeply saddened to hear about the shooting at today’s protest,” Brown added, “and I appreciate law enforcement’s quick response.”
In a statement shared on social media, the Salt Lake City Council said the thousands of people peacefully marching downtown “reflects the heart of our city.”
“It’s especially painful that such a meaningful and peaceful moment was followed by an act of violence,” the council said. “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and extend our heartfelt condolences to the victim, their family and everyone affected.”
“Salt Lake City is a place where people care deeply, show up for each other and speak out for what they believe in,” the council added. “Violence has no place here — and it will never define who we are."
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said, “Tragically, this is my second statement today expressing sadness and concern regarding gun violence.”
Wilson was referring to the assassination of Minnesota Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were shot and killed in their home early Saturday. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times in their home.
“I’m deeply troubled that a peaceful protest in Salt Lake City was disrupted by a shooting as community members were celebrating their right to assemble,” Wilson added in her statement Saturday night. “I am thinking of all who were impacted by this senseless act.”
She added: “Hateful rhetoric, discriminatory practices, and violence is tearing apart our nation and we must continue to work together to create a future that represents a better America.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man lays injured on the street as police respond to a reported shooting during a protest march in Salt Lake City, Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he was grateful for law enforcement’s quick response and them “bringing a dangerous situation under control in Salt Lake City.”
“The freedom to organize and participate in peaceful protests is a cornerstone of our great country,” Adams said on social media. “However, violence, destruction and vandalism are unacceptable.”
Adams, after police announced the shooting death Sunday, said his “heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the individual who lost their life last night.”
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and my thoughts are with everyone affected,” the Senate president said in a statement Sunday. “I also want to express my gratitude to all the security officers whose quick response helped prevent a mass casualty. In difficult moments like this, we must come together with shared compassion and a commitment to unity.
On Sunday morning, U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said he strongly condemns the shooting. “Violence — no matter the setting—has no place in our public square.”
“As we await more details,” the senator wrote on social media, “I extend my deepest gratitude to the Salt Lake City Police Department and all first responders on the case.”
The Salt Lake County Democratic Party, in a statement Sunday, said they are “heartbroken by the recent shooting” and are “grateful for the heroic responders whore quick action prevent a potential mass tragedy, and to the helpers who stepped up in a moment of crisis.
In a joint statement Sunday, state Rep. Jen Dailey-Provost and state Sen. Jen Plumb, both Salt Lake City Democrats, expressed their “shared distress, dismay and sorrow about the act of violence at Saturday’s No Kings rally.”
“As many have stated, violence has no place here,” they said. “We would argue more strongly, however, that every elected official must actively partake in changing the horrific rhetoric and divisiveness that drives public discourse in our society today; rhetoric that is supported and perpetuated by many in our state and nation’s top leadership positions.”
The “tragic death” of the Utahn, along with shooting and killings in Minnesota, the lawmakers said, “stand as stark examples of the current crisis of our nation’s integrity, and simple platitudes will not suffice as a response.”
“Moments like these chip away at our democratic institutions, and we must find a way to unify together behind our nation’s foundational principles,” the lawmakers added.