ST. GEORGE, Utah — The close-knit Latter-day Saint community in Utah has felt a kinship with those who lost their lives and were injured in Sunday's shooting at a Michigan chapel. For some, there are personal connections that have left many shaken.
Rick Person, an Alpine resident and former scoutmaster in the Grand Blanc Ward, described the devastating scene he saw in photos.
"I looked at the pictures of the damage. It was a big stake center, and that whole stake center, the whole dang building was on fire," Person said. "The entire stake center was just one bonfire. The whole thing was on fire."
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FOX 13 News talked with several Utahns who either used to be a part of that stake in Grand Blanc or have family who were there.
Jared Hicken grew up in Roosevelt and graduated from BYU before moving to Grand Blanc to serve his residency as a practicing doctor. His family said he took a bullet in the leg while going to check on the driver who just rammed his pickup into the church. His 5-year-old daughter Piper had a bullet go through her back, and his wife Brandi was hit by shrapnel.
Ironically, Hicken is a chief emergency room resident at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, which took in all the victims.
Hicken's father Kerry said all are now recovering at home.
"Our family was blessed," he said. "Injured but will recover. We are hurting so much for the other families and for the ward. The support they are receiving has been phenomenal. I believe miracles happened that day."
St. George resident and anesthesiologist Nate Needham was between surgeries in the emergency room of St. George Regional Hospital. He said he was in residency in Missouri while Hicken was in medical school at A.T. Still University there. He said they were in the same ward and got together regularly for barbecues. His 5-year-old daughter was born on the same week as Hicken's in the same hospital.
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Person grew up in Bountiful, Utah. After raising his eight kids in Michigan, he retired back to Alpine.
"I'm pretty numb about it. I didn't know quite how to process it," Person said. "I had a son that got married in that church and had his reception there. Most of my kids were baptized in that church."
"I still know a lot of the people and I've made all kinds of phone calls just to check on friends of mine and make sure they were doing okay. But you know, some of the people that got hurt, I know well. One of the fellows that was shot and passed away, I know. So it's been a real roller coaster for us the last couple of days," Person said.
Person is not the only one who is either back in Utah or moved here from the Grand Blanc Ward.
“There’s a lot of people here that are going through the same thing that I'm going through,” Person said, adding that they’re all planning to gather for a dinner. “Just kind of talk, try to support one another and reminisce a little bit about our experiences there. And hopefully that'll help us as we try to process things and move forward.”
