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ENOCH, Iron County — One week after police say a man shot and killed his family and mother-in-law before taking his own life, an Enoch City official said the community is finding healing by helping one another.
Rob Dotson said the Haight family was "a part of us, a part of our culture, our community. They're just a part of who we are." And their loss continues to impact the city and surrounding communities.
"It's hard to describe the scale as to which people are impacted," said Dotson, Enoch's city manager.
Nothing good can be said about what happened inside the Haight's home on Jan. 4, but reflecting on the week that has followed, Dotson could say many good things have happened in the community.
"What's happened is there's been such an outpouring — I don't know how to describe it, other than a deluge of requests to help," he said. "This community is loving each other, is caring for each other, is talking with each other. The individuals that make up our community are our community."
From the calls and messages that have come in from as far away as Germany, to the service dog Cooper visiting first responders and the notes and pizza delivered to the city, Dotson said people want to reach out and help.
He said the challenge in this type of situation is who to help because there are so many impacted. But without any immediate family members who survived, their focus has been helping relatives of the Haight family.
Dotson said the most poignant example of helping happened earlier this week with a Haight family member. Dotson was at the Haight's home with the police chief and this relative when a boy walked by heading home from school.
Dotson said the relative saw the boy walk by and the concern on his face. He called to him, walked over, said a few words and gave him a hug. Dotson said the boy walked away with a smile.
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Friday's funeral for an Enoch mother, her five children, and the children's grandmother will be held in La Verkin, Washington County, and streamed online."That's what's most important, and that's what we need to do from here on forward," Dotson said. "It's to remember that those who suffer need each other, and we can do that. That's very possible and it doesn't cost anything."
Still, some things continue to take a toll as they struggle to heal. Dotson said lies are surfacing online about what happened and why.
"The rumors that are being spread out there by people who say they know, they are not helping anybody," he said.
Dotson said the investigation is ongoing and eventually police will have more to say, but it could take another few weeks.
"The details would change people's perspectives about what happened and — as horrifying as it is — it would set things straight instead of the horrific rumors going around," he said.
Until then, he expects there will be many more good things to say about how their community is healing and moving forward.
"We move on, but we move on better. We move on, and we move on stronger," he said. "I think that's the only way to move on and be healthy, is to forget ourselves and think about others."
Funeral services for Gail Earl, Tausha Haight and her five children will be held on Friday. The Enoch City Police Department, Canyon Creek Services and the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition are also holding a public vigil from 6 to 8 p.m. at the city recreation center.
