Two Indicted on Firearm Charges Following Shooting Incident Near Utah Church

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. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP, File)

Updated 10:30 PM EST, February 28, 2026

SALT LAKE CITY (NB360) — A federal grand jury has charged two men with firearms offenses related to a shooting last month in a church parking lot in Salt Lake City, where two people were killed and six others were injured.

The indictment, revealed on Friday, accuses 32-year-old Ryan Toutai of unlawful firearm disposition and 26-year-old Fineeva Maka of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.

Investigators utilized cellphone videos, photos, and GPS ankle monitor data to connect the two men to a pistol found at the Jan. 7 shooting, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors claim the two men are gang members.

The incident occurred in the rear parking lot of a worship place for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Investigators have indicated the shooting stemmed from a conflict among acquaintances attending a funeral. All victims were adults. No one has been charged with the actual homicides yet.

The church primarily serves Tongan congregants, according to its website. In the 1890s, LDS missionaries introduced their faith to Tonga, an archipelago in the South Pacific. Over 25% of the U.S. Tongan population lives in Utah, the church's headquarters.

Toutai and Maka are set to appear in court on Tuesday. It is unclear if they have legal representation, and The Associated Press could not immediately contact them for comments. Attempts to reach the federal public defender’s office were also unsuccessful.

Previously, police arrested Toutai on a felony obstruction of justice charge related to the case. He was in jail on Saturday. A third man was also arrested on the same charge.