Topline
The suspect in the shooting deaths of seven family members was identified as 42-year-old Michael Haight, who later killed himself, according to city officials, after their bodies were found Wednesday inside their home in Enoch City, Utah.
Police said Michael Haight, 42, killed seven family members before shooting himself Wednesday.
Key Facts
Enoch City Manager Roy Dotson said in a press conference Thursday that Haight had killed his wife, mother-in-law and five children before committing suicide.
The victims were identified as Haight’s 40-year-old wife, Tausha, her 78-year-old mother Gail Earl, and the couple’s five children aged 4 to 17—each of which went unnamed in a release that preceded Thursday’s press conference.
Dotson suggested Haight had killed his family because Tausha filed for divorce on December 21.
James Park, who represented Tausha Haight in the divorce case, told the Associated Press that she did not express fear that her husband would hurt her.
Big Number
13.6. That’s the number of gun deaths per 100,000 people in Utah in 2020, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ranking Utah 30th among all states and tied with South Dakota and Pennsylvania.
Tangent
The Iron County School District released a statement late Wednesday saying the five children were students in the district, adding a Crisis Intervention Team was in place to help students, parents and school staffers dealing with the tragedy.
Further Reading
Police Find 8 People, Including 5 Children, Shot To Death In Utah Home (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/01/05/police-identify-suspect-in-utah-family-murder-suicide-that-left-8-dead/