WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KUTV) — The lone survivor of a West Valley City shooting in late 2024 has died, his extended family said.
Sha Reh was a Granger High School student who survived a gunshot to the head during the murder-suicide of his family. In December 2024, West Valley City police said Reh, along with his mother and three siblings, was shot by his father.
Reh managed to make it from the family room to the garage, where he was later found by another family member. The shooting left him blind, and for the past year he had attended the School for the Deaf and Blind.
Extended family members of Sha Reh released a statement Sunday announcing that he died unexpectedly at his aunt and uncle’s home of natural causes.
“Sha Reh lost his mother, father, two sisters, and brother in a tragic event that was widely reported in the news media in December 2024. Sha Reh was also a victim of the shooting but miraculously survived his parents and siblings,” the statement read.
According to a GoFundMe created to help cover the costs of funeral and memorial services, Reh died of natural causes. His death came a week after he became a student at the University of Utah, fulfilling his “dream of obtaining a college education and eventually enrolling in law school.”
“While we are devastated at the news of his death, the knowledge of the joy of his reunion with his family exceeds our pain. He was among those who were once blind, but now can see. He has a perfect vision of his and his family’s eternity, and his home is now with them,” the statement read.
Officials with the Utah State Board of Education also released a statement offering condolences.
“Sha Reh was part of Utah’s education community, and his determination to continue his education in the face of profound challenges was recognized by those who knew him. Our thoughts are with all who are grieving this loss,” they said.
Read the family’s full statement below:
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Sha Reh. He passed away unexpectedly in the home of his aunt and uncle on Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Sha Reh lost his mother, father, two sisters, and brother in a tragic event that was widely reported in the news media in December of 2024. Sha Reh was also a victim of the shooting but miraculously survived his parents and siblings.
Despite losing his vision in both eyes, and over the course of the past 13 months, Sha Reh overcame numerous obstacles on his pathway to healing. He successfully enrolled in the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind in January of 2025, where he learned to communicate in Braille and live independently.
Just this past week, he matriculated as a first year, first generation student at the University of Utah. He was living independently and was excited to work toward his dream of obtaining a college education and eventually enrolling in law school.
While we are devastated at the news of his death, the knowledge of the joy of his reunion with his family exceeds our pain. He was among those who were once blind, but now can see. He has a perfect vision of his and his family’s eternity, and his home is now with them.
Caring for him and watching him grow and regain his independence has been a labor of love for our family.
As a family, we express gratitude to first responders from Salt Lake County, Taylorsville Police Department, and the Medical Examiner’s Office who attended so heroically to Sha. We also express gratitude for the loving kindness shown to our family and Sha by so many over the course of the past year.”
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