Shooting at US church leaves two dead, six others injured

A shooting outside a church building in the United States has led to the death of at least two people, and injury to six others.

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The attack occurred on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church in Utah, where a funeral was being held.

According to an Al Jazeera report, the police confirmed the attack and have begun investigating the incident.

While the police have launched a manhunt, no suspect has been arrested or held in custody.

The police also believed that although the shooting wasn’t random, it was not a targeted attack against a religion.

According to the church, there were signs of a fracas outside the church, where the funeral was being held.

“Out in the parking lot, there was some sort of altercation took place, and that’s when shots were fired,” the church spokesperson, Glen Mills, said.

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After the incident, roughly 100 law enforcement vehicles converged on the scene, with helicopters circling overhead.

Reacting to the incident, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed concern, stating that it should never have happened outside a place of worship or during a celebration of life.

The shooting in Salt Lake City came at a time of growing unrest in the US, following the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, which had sparked protests against the immigration crackdown of the Donald Trump administration.

The 37-year-old woman, identified as Renee Nicole, was killed during an immigration enforcement operation.

READ ALSO: German President condemns US foreign policy under Trump

ICE officials described the shooting as self-defence, saying the agent fired after the woman allegedly tried to use her vehicle against officers.

However, the Minnesota authorities sharply dispute this account, noting that the threat to officers was unclear.

A PREMIUM TIMES review of videos of the incident showed that the woman tried to veer off and avoid hitting the ICE officer before she was fatally shot.