Utah Shooting

FILE - Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.

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Utah charges man with murder in January shooting outside church in Salt Lake City

Utah charges man with murder in January shooting outside church in Salt Lake City

Prosecutors say a man in California is in custody on murder charges in connection with a shooting in January that left two people dead in a Salt Lake City church parking lot. The charges against 32-year-old John Vea Uasike Jr. were unsealed Monday by the Salt Lake County district attorney’s office as authorities seek his extradition to Utah. Uasike was taken into custody on April 14 by law enforcement in California on six felony charges. The violence took place outside a place of worship for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Six people were injured.