Anetone Simanu was 35 and described by friends as a loyal, funny father of two who worked in maintenance and security. He was shot once in the chest and killed in a downtown Salt Lake City parking lot early on Sunday, September 3, 2023. Dispatchers received the 911 call at 4:04 a.m.; officers arrived within minutes to a chaotic scene at 128 West 300 South and found community members attempting life-saving measures before Simanu was pronounced dead.

Police say the shooting followed a fight between Simanu and a man identified in arrest documents as 23-year-old Michael Tifi Trevino. Witnesses reported the men were separated after the initial scuffle, but that Simanu returned hoping for a one-on-one fight; Trevino allegedly then produced a gun, cursed at Simanu, and shot him. Investigators used surveillance video to identify a vehicle used to flee the scene. Two people were initially arrested for interfering with the investigation, and on the evening of September 7, 2023, the Salt Lake City Police Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and SWAT located and arrested Trevino. He was booked on charges of murder and obstruction of justice and ordered held without bail; the firearm had not been recovered at that time.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about the events in the parking lot that morning, please share what is known.