Utah Tongan leaders planning community response after fatal shooting at funeral

Utah's Tongan community is looking at bringing families together to address violence and help younger people find different ways to deal with conflict after a fatal shooting at a funeral.

The National Tongan American Society is considering a town hall following last week's shooting in Kearns, which left 18-year-old Vilisoni “Soni” Angilau dead and his twin brother, Vita, critically injured.

Kulaea Taulanga, the Society's interfaith chair, says the violence has been particularly difficult for a community that places strong value on family, respect and places of worship.

“We need to get together and see what else we can do to make it better because this is not us,” Taulanga told KSL News. “It's not our culture. It's not the way we were brought up.”

The organisation's president, Ivoni Nash, said earlier that the older generation has been shocked by the violence and wants to work with younger people on ways to resolve conflict.

“Let's get together and work together” to teach the younger generation to forgive each other, she told KSL.

Eighteen-year-old Vilisoni “Soni” Angilau was killed in the shooting at a Tongan funeral in Kearns, Utah. His twin brother, Vita, was also shot and remains critically injured. Photo/Supplied

Nash says love, unity and helping one another remain important parts of Tongan culture.

The call comes as new details emerge from police and court documents about what happened outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) meetinghouse in Kearns.

Unified Police say the shooting followed a dispute between two families.

National Tongan American Society interfaith chair Kulaea Taulanga says the shooting is not representative of Tongan culture and is calling for the community to come together. Photo/Supplied

According to arrest documents, one of the 18-year-old twins became involved in a fight with a 17-year-old boy.

Police allege the boy's 45-year-old father, Afuhia Masiu Manatau, then gave his son a gun.

The teenager allegedly shot both brothers before another person took control of the gun and fired at him. The teenager and the second 18-year-old were also critically injured.

Manatau has been arrested and booked on suspicion of first-degree felony murder and felony discharge of a firearm. The teenage suspect has not been charged, with prosecutors expected to review the case.

Vilisoni was pronounced dead at hospital. His twin brother, identified by local media as Vita, remains critically injured. The brothers were among those caught in the shooting during the funeral gathering.

The shooting has also raised concerns about a wider pattern of violence around Tongan funerals in Utah.

Watch Utah Tongan educator Richard Wolfgramm's full interview on Pacific Days below.

In January, two Tongan men were killed and several others injured in a separate shooting outside a memorial service at a church in Salt Lake City.

For Tongan leaders, the latest tragedy is now prompting a focus on what can be done before another family is left grieving.

The National Tongan American Society says it wants to work with the community to help young people learn how to resolve problems without violence.