WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Three people, including a baby, were killed in a shooting Sunday night at WestFest, the annual festival event held in West Valley City.
West Valley City spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku said police officers at Centennial Park (near 5600 West and 3100 South) spotted two groups of people getting into a verbal argument around 9:20 p.m. As they approached to break it up, a 16-year-old boy in one of the groups pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the other group.
One police officer returned fire at the suspect but did not hit him.
Five people were shot, and three of them died from their wounds.
An 18-year-old man, who Vainuku said is believed to have been in the opposing group from the shooter, was killed.
A 41-year-old woman and an 8-month-old child, who were uninvolved bystanders, were also killed. They were also not connected to each other.
Two teenagers suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds to their arms. Police are working to find out if they were involved in either group. One was a 17-year-old girl and the other was a 15-year-old boy.
The suspect has been taken into custody and will be questioned.
Vainuku said there are also several witnesses being interviewed, but they believe there are more witnesses who left the scene. The police department is asking those with any information to contact them.
The reason behind the argument is not yet clear, and officials said they have not confirmed whether it was gang-related at this time.
