In the early morning hours of June 6, 2021, a celebration turned into a scene of tragedy in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sean Amone, a 20-year-old male of Pacific Islander descent, was killed in a drive-by shooting while attending a graduation party with friends at a home on North General Drive. The sudden eruption of violence also left four other young men, ages 19 and 20, with critical gunshot wounds.
The group, which included recent and former graduates of West High School, had gathered at the residence after an earlier confrontation had disrupted a graduation event at Trolley Square.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that the violence was not a random act. An altercation had taken place earlier in the evening at a different location where a graduation event was being held. Following that initial dispute, which involved a fistfight and an exchange of gunfire that injured a friend of the alleged assailants, the suspects reportedly sought retaliation. According to court documents, one of the individuals involved made a statement to the effect of targeting "Any Polynesians from Rose Park."
Just a short time after Amone and his friends arrived at the house on General Drive, a white sedan was seen passing by the residence. A few minutes later, the same vehicle returned, and shots were fired from the car into the group standing outside. Sean Amone was struck twice in the head and was pronounced deceased at the scene, while paramedics rushed the four other victims to area hospitals. The suspects fled before police arrived, leaving a chaotic and sorrowful scene behind.
In the days and months that followed, law enforcement made several arrests in connection with the homicide. On June 8, 2021, just two days after the shooting, police took a 15-year-old male into custody, identifying him as one of the suspected shooters. Later, two other teenagers, including Emmanuel Mading, who was 15 at the time of the incident, were also charged. Mading eventually had his case moved to adult court and faced charges of murder and multiple counts of discharging a firearm. Another individual, 19-year-old Felix Issara, was accused of being the driver of the vehicle used in the drive-by and was charged with murder and obstruction of justice. The investigation indicated that after the shooting, the suspects attempted to conceal evidence by cleaning shell casings from the car and deleting social media accounts.
