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WEST VALLEY CITY — One person is in critical condition and two others were stabbed after two fights broke out at the WestFest celebration Friday night, police said.
Police responded to a large group fight at WestFest — an annual celebration commemorating the establishment of West Valley City — at 5355 W. 3100 South about 9:21 p.m. Friday, according to West Valley Police Department spokesperson Lt. Justin Wyckoff.
A large group of 30 to 50 people were involved in the fight in a parking lot, during which three juvenile males were stabbed, Wyckoff said.
The first victim was stabbed in the chest and taken to the hospital in critical condition, said Roxeanne Vainuku, West Valley City spokeswoman. The second victim received stab wounds to his back, and the third received cuts to his hands and forearms, Vainuku said. All three victims were transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Police are still investigating the cause of the fight and have made not yet made any arrest in relation to the stabbings, according to Vainuku.
“We have information that some of those victims might know the associated involved, but those individuals who allegedly did the stabbing we were unable to apprehend,” Wyckoff said, noting that the situation was very chaotic initially and that people were being uncooperative with giving information.
Within the same crowd, a separate fight led to the arrest of George Tautauaa, 40, who was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of assault, police said in a statement. A juvenile was also taken into custody and booked on suspicion of inciting a riot and assault, the police said.
As police were gathered in the parking lot investigating the first incident, Vainuku said that a large group of people gathered around them and broke out into another fight. Police initially thought it was a continuation of the first fight, but after investigation, it appears to be a separate incident.
West Valley Police Sgt. Robert Brinton said the second fight is believed to be gang-related and possibly involved retaliation for an earlier stabbing incident that took place at the Valley Fair Mall earlier on Friday.
“A lot of people don’t want to be around us but these guys decided to push in and wanted to escalate the situation,” Brinton said about what he calls the “crazy” decision to start a fight right next to an active police investigation.
Brinton said that the only injuries from the second fight were “minor injuries that you would expect from a fistfight,” and that no one was transported to the hospital. Police are still investigating the second fight, and two juveniles were taken into custody and then released. They will be referred for charges, police said.
The fights have prompted city officials to assign one dozen extra duty police officers to WestFest to ensure safety and security at the event.
