7/3/25 Wisdom, Warnings & Wins – Shooting at a church in Utah
On Wednesday, 7/2/2025, a 14-year-old boy was walking through the parking lot of an LDS Church in West Valley City, UT with other boys. A car pulled into the driveway and a conversation took place between the occupants of the car and the boys. Someone asked which of the boys was the victim (which remains unnamed in reports at this time). When the other boys clarified it was him, a shot came from the back seat striking the boy in the shoulder.
The car then sped away and the boys called for police and medical. The boy will probably not die from his injuries.
This describes one of the most common of all deadly force incidents to occur at a church. We have taken criticism for including them in our Deadly Force study because it wasn’t a “church issue.”
I do not agree. If you have someone shot in your front yard it is going to affect you. Not as much as if the one shot was a family member, but it will change how you operate at your home (at least it should).
In addition to the possibilities that there is an untold story that may (or may not) come out later of a connection to the church, it doesn’t have to be a church issue to be serious.
As I’ve asked the critics before, if a shooting occurs in a Walmart parking lot does it have to be linked to the cost of eggs for Walmart Security to be concerned? If shots are fired at your child’s school, is your first question about the connection to the school?
This may not be considered a “church shooting” (whatever that is), but it is a shooting at a church. When we start splitting hairs on violence, we lose lessons learned in the process. The lesson learned here is to make sure your weekly staff knows protocols for when violence erupts outside (or inside for that matter) whether it is a church issue or not. Bullets fly at the same speed whether it’s a church issue or not.
At the sound of gunfire, nobody’s going to ask, “is this a church issue!?”
Related Content
Comments