SALT LAKE CITY — In the Rose Park neighborhood next to the scene of a church shooting in Salt Lake City, residents said the incident that left two people dead and injured others has left them in shock.
"It’s crazy. It’s too close to home,” said Michelle Crespin.
Just a few feet away from the parking lot at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse, homes are filled with families. But on Wednesday, the windows on those homes were filled with flashing lights.
“I’m not trying to say that we don’t have challenges, but this murder, especially a double murder, a mass shooting essentially. It’s an aberration for any community. It’s certainly out of the norm here. It’s the worst thing to happen to our community since I’ve been here, and we’re all pretty shaken by it," said Dan Strong, President, Westside Coalition.
Strong advocates for the communities on the west side of the city. For people like Thomas Hurrington these tragedies don’t often come so close to their backyard.
“There’s two driveways right here. We had people running down the driveways the whole time. I mean running," explained Hurrington. "Ambulances running in and out. I know they had someone cuffed here for a minute. That’s not a regular thing you see. So even people say, 'Oh, the Westside,' that’s not a regular thing at all to be over here.”
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Hurrington has lived on the Westside his whole life and says it’s a safe community with great people. His neighbors agreed.
“You go to other states and stuff, and it’s out of control, but here it’s not really that bad," said Michael Gregory. "People stick together, just trying to get through life.”
“It’s pretty quiet," added Crespin. "Everyone keeps to themselves and is respectful.”
As the community remains shocked by the tragedy, many say they’ll look to one another for support.
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“First, we hold our lawmakers accountable. Make sure that everything is done properly. Then we do what we always do. We make sure we check on our neighbors, make sure everybody is safe. We also check on each other to make sure our mental health is good,” Hurrington said.
Nearly 24 hours later, only crime scene tape and flower bouquets remained in the church parking lot where people lost their lives.
“It’s tragic," said Crespin. "It’s so crazy that something like that would happen.”
“We do have a record of coming together in this community to face hard things," said Strong. "My message would be is that our hearts are with the people who have been impacted by this. Really, the whole community’s been impacted by this. It’s terrible, it’s tragedy. I think that we will take solace in trying to think about each other and support each other through it."
