Investigators report that a fight outside a funeral home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday injured six people, one critically.
Authorities reported that at approximately 1:30 p.m. MT, police got multiple reports of a brawl and stabbing at a funeral home in downtown Salt Lake City.
“There was some sort of fight that broke out,” Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson Brent Weisberg said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, describing it as a “very chaotic scene.”
Four people were located outside the funeral home and sent to nearby hospitals with mild to life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
According to authorities, one person in serious condition was first believed to have been shot, but medics have been unable to determine the cause of the injuries. According to authorities, the individual was still in surgery Tuesday evening.
The three others had symptoms consistent with stabbing, but the cause of their injuries is still being investigated, according to Weisberg.
Several witnesses also contacted 911 to report a car possibly involved in the event that departed the funeral home at a “high rate of speed,” according to Weisberg.
According to authorities, officers stopped a vehicle that matched the description several streets from the funeral home. Authorities reported that they transported two individuals with minor injuries to nearby hospitals and subsequently released them. The police stated they did not believe they had been stabbed or shot.
Weisberg reported that they arrested a third person for questioning.
Weisberg reported finding a pistol inside the vehicle. Police are attempting to secure a search warrant for the vehicle in order to recover the firearm, he said.
When the incident occurred outside, the funeral home was hosting a “large” number of attendees, according to Weisberg. He stated that police believe all six injured people were there at the event.
Weisberg described the investigation as “very complex,” with detectives seeking to determine who was involved in the brawl.
“At this point, we have not been able to determine the motive for this, nor have we been able to determine… how many people were considered suspects or victims,” Weisberg went on to say.
Police stated there had been no arrests as of Tuesday evening. Police are not looking for anyone else involved in the incident, according to Weisberg.
Detectives from the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Violent Crime and Robbery Squad and Gang Unit are working on the case.
There were no additional details on those injured at this time.
There is no current threat to the community, according to the authorities.
“This type of incident is exceedingly rare for our city,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown stated in a statement. “”I know our detectives are working quickly to determine the motive for this incident, but I am relieved to know that based on the preliminary investigation, this was not a random attack.”
