The Salt Lake City Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred during a “No Kings” protest Saturday night, leaving one person with critical injuries. An estimated 10,000 people were marching at the time.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd told media shortly after 10 p.m., about two hours after the incident, that gunshots had been fired as protesters were walking near 151 S. State Street. Police responded immediately, finding one person with life-threatening injuries.

It wasn’t clear whether the first responding officers had heard or seen the shooting, or what alerted them to the incident, Redd said.

Officers received immediate witness information from people in the crowd and pursued the suspected shooter to 200 East and 100 South. It was discovered he too had a gunshot wound, Redd said, and he was treated and taken to a hospital under police observation.

Two more people who Redd said were involved in the incident were also arrested. No details about their possible involvement were provided. Redd said police are not looking for any additional people, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting, including whether any of the people involved were participating in the march.

“It appears they were involved at some level in the protest, or at least as part of the group that was walking,” Redd said.

A Utah News Dispatch reporter who was on scene saw panicked protesters scatter just before 8 p.m., many of them running and shouting that there were gunshots. Minutes later, a Salt Lake City police officer ran past, saying officers were looking for a male dressed in black with a gun, and asking “where is he?”

About a half a block east of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, near 125 S. State Street, a photojournalist working with the Dispatch saw a crowd of people running after gunshots broke out. Near the north corner of the Federal Building plaza, people were seen taking shelter behind concrete walls and cars.

Further south down State Street, the photojournalist saw a crowd of first responders, including police and volunteers wearing vests, crouching around a man lying on the ground. What appeared to be his hat, lying next to him, was covered in blood.

Near 102 South and 200 East, the photojournalist saw a man on the ground in handcuffs, surrounded by police. Officers then walked the man away before setting him on a curb, where first responders appeared to render him aid for about 15 minutes.

First responders then put the man on a gurney, still handcuffed, before loading him into an ambulance and driving him away.

After the shooting, protesters were emotional. Some cried and hugged each other. An activist was also heard yelling in a loudspeaker: “Don’t let them tell you this was a riot. We only want to be heard. We were nonviolent.”

The demonstration was the last and largest of 11 planned protests across the state Saturday in conjunction with nationwide demonstrations against President Donald Trump, including another Salt Lake City protest that drew thousands more to the University of Utah that morning.

The demonstration that began at Pioneer Park, 350 S. 300 West, had been boisterous but peaceful up until the shooting, with protesters marching up 400 South to State Street and circling around the block at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building to double back. Before they set out, speakers at the park had urged nonviolence, their message met with cheers.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who joined Redd to brief reporters, condemned the shooting while thanking Salt Lake City police for their “swift and professional response to this tragic event.”

“The violence that we’ve seen here today in Salt Lake City and even in other parts of this nation is horrific. And it is not who we are,” she said. “Let me be clear. This act of violence does not define our city.”

Utah’s capital of Salt Lake City is a Democratic stronghold in an otherwise deep red state.

Mendenhall, a Democrat, said the purpose of Saturday’s demonstrations was a “powerful and peaceful expression until this event. And that cannot be overshadowed or silenced by a single act meant to harm.”

“I want to urge everyone in the public to be calm, to give one another grace, and to look out for one another tonight and in the coming days,” she said.

Mendenhall again thanked Salt Lake City police and other first responders including Salt Lake City firefighters for their “heroic actions,” calling them “among the best in this city, and I am so proud of you.” She also thanked protesters who came downtown to “stand peacefully together.”

“Your city sees you,” she told protesters. “Thank you for using your voice. Thank you for your peaceful cooperation with our police department tonight. And please know that your calm response and your support of their efforts likely prevented a more dangerous potential situation. You represent the Salt Lake City that I am proud to call home.”

The mayor added that “we will not walk in fear of one another. Not in this city, and not in this nation.”

“America, we are better than this violence,” she said. “We are stronger than this hate. This moment does not define us.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, issued a statement at about 9 p.m. saying the shooting was “a deeply troubling act of violence and has no place in our public square.”

“This is an active situation, and we’re working closely with law enforcement to ensure accountability,” Cox said.

About 20 minutes later, Cox in a post on X, said he had just spoken with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall about the shooting.

“My heart is broken for everyone impacted tonight,” he said. “Thank you to the thousands of protestors who exercised their constitutional rights in the right way tonight. I’m grateful to security, SLCPD, DPS, and medical personnel who jumped into action to protect lives.”

Another one of the state’s top Republicans, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, also issued a statement expressing gratitude for Salt Lake City Police’s “prompt actions in maintaining order, safeguarding our communities and bringing a dangerous situation under control in Salt Lake City. Their dedication helped protect lives and restore order.”

“The freedom to organize and participate in peaceful protests is a cornerstone of our great country,” Adams said. “However, violence, destruction and vandalism are unacceptable.”

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.