Three people, including an eight-month old infant were shot dead at an annual carnival in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday night, police officials said. Two teenagers were also wounded in the incident following an altercation between two groups at the WestFest carnival at Centennial Park.
The West Valley City Police Department released a statement on X stating, “SHOOTING: there has been a shooting at WestFest, which was underway at Centennial Park. Several people are hurt. PIO is enroute. Media: standby for staging.”
A 41-year-old female bystander and an 18-year-old man, who was part of one of the quarreling groups were among those killed. The West Valley City Police Department asserted that the police had approached to break up an argument between the two groups when a 16-year-old pulled out a gun and shot at the other group, reported Reuters. The police had fired back at the suspect and took him into custody.
According to the police, two teenagers were both hit in the arm. “Two teens, a 17-year-old female and a 15-year-old male, were both hit in the arm. It is not clear if they were connected to the groups involved,” the police said in a statement.
“Detectives are currently conducting interviews with witnesses. We believe there could be more people out there who witnessed the incident and we would like to talk to them. If you witnessed this incident tonight, please contact us at: 801-840-4000,” the statement added.
There have been 156 such mass shootings in the United States so far this year where four or more people have been shot or killed, not including the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
