8-month-old baby among 3 dead from shooting at West Valley City carnival

Yahoo

19-06-2025

Police respond to a shooting at WestFest at Centennial Park in West Valley City on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)
This story has been updated with more information from the West Valley City Police Department.
Three people — including an 8-month-old boy — were killed and two teenagers were injured in a shooting late Sunday night at WestFest, a carnival held every year in West Valley City.
Officers arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with the shooting, according to West Valley City Police Department spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku. She told reporters he's the 'only suspect in this case' as police continue to investigate what happened.
The suspect began firing shots after 'two groups of people' seemed to have 'some sort of verbal altercation,' Vainuku said. She noted two of the three dead — the 8-month-old infant and a 41-year-old woman — were bystanders 'not connected to any of the people in either of the groups.' An 18-year-old man was also shot and killed, who 'we believe is connected and was part of the opposing group that the suspect was in,' she said.
Monday afternoon, West Valley City police identified two of the people who were killed. The 18-year-old man was Hassan Lugundi, of West Valley, and the 41-year-old woman was Fnu Reena of West Jordan. Police did not identify the 8-month-old boy or the 16-year-old suspect because they are minors.
It's too early to say whether the shooting was related to gang violence, Vainuku said, as police are still investigating. However, she told reporters Monday that it appears that Lugundi, the 18-year-old man who was killed, 'appears to have been the suspect's intended target.'
The shooting in West Valley City — Utah's second-most-populated city, behind the state's capital of Salt Lake City — comes on the heels of a deadly shooting that occurred during an otherwise peaceful 'No Kings' protest in downtown Salt Lake City.
Saturday, one man, 39-year-old bystander Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, was killed, after police say one of two armed men 'possibly part of the event's peacekeeping team' confronted another man, 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, who was carrying an AR-15 style rifle. One of the men, reportedly part of the event's security team, fired three shots, grazing Gamboa but also hitting Ah Loo, who was marching with protesters. Ah Loo later died at the hospital, police said.
The dust was barely starting to settle from Saturday's tragedy when the shooting at West Valley City broke out Sunday — capping off a chaotic and violent weekend in two separate, crowded public places in Utah.
Man dies after being shot in chaotic scene at Salt Lake City's 'No Kings' protest
The shooting at WestFest occurred shortly after 9:20 p.m., Vainuku said, after officers who were working at the carnival spotted 'two groups of people who seemed to be having some sort of a verbal altercation.'
'The officers approached these two groups in order to kind of break things up and calm things down,' she said. As the officers neared, they saw the suspect pull out a gun and start firing it at the other group.
She said one of the officers fired a single round toward the suspect, but didn't hit him or any of the victims. However, 'they were able to very quickly take the suspect into custody.'
Of the five people who were hit, two were injured by gunshot wounds to their arms, according to West Valley City police. One was a 17-year-old girl; the other was a 15-year-old boy. 'They don't appear to have any involvement with the suspect, but also just happened to be in that line of fire,' Vainuku told reporters Monday.
In the panic after the shots were fired, a pregnant woman was injured trying to climb a fence to get away, Vainuku said.
Several people witnessed the shooting, and police are interviewing them as part of their investigation, she said.
'We're still trying to piece together exactly how the incident started,' Vainuku said.
Vainuku also noted that in accordance with Salt Lake County's critical incident protocol, a team led by the Salt Lake City Police Department will investigate the shooting. To preserve the integrity of that investigation, West Valley police officials 'have not talked to either of our officers who actually engaged the suspect.'
'In short, then, there are simply details that we will not know until the investigation is complete,' she said.
Vainuku called the shooting at the city's annual festival 'heartbreaking.'
'WestFest is something that is a celebration of our community, a celebration of all of the things that make our community great, a celebration of the diversity and the fun and the good, hard-working people of our community,' she said. 'It's heartbreaking … for all of us to see something like this happen as something that is just a real treasure, something we really enjoy in our community.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
West Valley City Mayor Karen Lang and the West Valley City Council issued a joint statement Monday afternoon saying 'we are heartbroken.'
'What should have been a joyful night of community celebration ended in unimaginable tragedy,' West Valley City leaders said. 'We mourn the lives lost and stand in deep sorrow with the families whose worlds have been forever changed.'
Lang and the City Council said West Valley City is a 'community rooted in resilience, compassion, and unity. In the face of heartbreak, we must lean on one another, care for one another, and recommit ourselves to building a safer, stronger community.'
They thanked police officers, first responders, and medical teams who 'acted swiftly, as well as the detectives working tirelessly to uncover the full truth.'
'We grieve with you and ask that all of us continue to stand together and support one another,' they said.
In response to the statement posted on the city's Facebook page, several commenters called on city leaders to consider improving security for WestFest.
'This was very sad but West Valley City government needs to have some discussions around the security of WestFest,' one commenter said. 'A friend encountered a knife fight as well Saturday night. The festival has progressively had more incidents over the years and residents are uncomfortable taking their children to community events. Sending love and light to all those affected by this tragedy in our community.'
Vainuku told reporters Monday that security at WestFest is 'extensive,' but she said city leaders are always open to considering changes.
'Any time that you have a large gathering of people, it would be incumbent upon us, of course, to plan for security to ensure that people are safe. And that's exactly what people had there last night,' she said. 'We had an extensive police presence there, just simply because of the size of the event.'
At the time of the shooting, she said an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people were in attendance as the festival wound down on its final night, scheduled to end at 11 p.m.
'In fact, this shooting took place maybe 100 yards from our police mobile command post,' she said. 'So I think it's fair to say this was not about a lack of resources (or) a lack of police presence. This was about something entirely different.'
Vainuku said WestFest's entrance did not include metal detectors. 'That's not something that was in place,' she told reporters. 'I've been asked if that's something that we're considering.'
She said 'that's not really a conversation that we're focused on at this moment,' noting that police are focusing on responding to Sunday night's shooting, 'but I can tell you that as a city, we're always dedicated to evaluating and reevaluating and doing the best that we possibly can, whatever that takes.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX