A 16-year-old suspect shot five people on Sunday night at a festival in West Valley City, which is near Salt Lake City, Utah. Sunday’s shooting incident left three victims dead and two injured.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, the West Valley City Police Department said that law enforcement officials at the WestFest festival “spotted two groups of people” who were engaging in a “verbal altercation” at roughly 9:20 p.m. on Sunday. When police officials approached the two groups to “break up the altercation, the 16-year-old male suspect, who was in one of the two groups involved in the altercation, “pulled out a gun and fired.”
“A total of 5 people were hit by gunshots: a 18-year-old male in one of the groups was hit and died. A 41-year-old female bystander was also struck and killed and a 8-month-old infant was hit and killed as well,” the West Valley City Police Department said. “One officer fired and did not hit the suspect, but the 16-year-old male suspect was taken into custody.”
The West Valley City Police Department confirmed that the 16-year-old suspect was in police custody and was taken to the police station for questioning.
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According to the West Valley City Police Department, the 41-year-old female, who was later identified as Fnu Reena, and the 8-month-old infant killed in Sunday’s shooting were “bystanders and not connected” to the two groups involved in the verbal altercation. Law enforcement officials added that it was not yet clear whether a 17-year-old female and a 15-year-old male who both sustained gunshot wounds to the arm were connected to the two groups.
The West Valley City Police Department also identified the deceased 18-year-old connected to one of the groups as Hassan Lugundi.
West Valley City Police Department Public Information Office Roxeanne Vainuku told KUTV, “It’s heartbreaking, I think for all of us, to see something like this happen at something that is just a real treasure, something that we really enjoy in our community.”
In a statement on social media, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said, “I am so deeply saddened by the loss of life, especially that of an innocent bystander and an infant. My thoughts are with all who were onsite and impacted by this tragedy and the families of those who lost their lives.”
