(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — At least two shooters opened fire early Sunday in Sacramento in the city’s second mass shooting in five weeks, killing six people and wounding 12 others as bars closed for the night and crowds emptied onto downtown streets, police said.
Kathy Lester (Police Chief) said three men and three women died in the shooting. The bodies of the victims remained uninjured for hours following the explosion at 2 AM. As police searched for suspects, they sought out clues in a large crime scene spread across several blocks.
Four of the injured were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The authorities have yet to identify any victims nor offer any possible motive.
Investigators pored through hundreds of pieces of evidence — much of it documented on the streets with blue and yellow markers — as officials begged the public to come forward with tips and videos that could help find the suspects.
Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area, said she’s fielded many phone calls reporting violence in her district during her 15 months in office. At a press conference, she cried as she revealed that her latest call at 2:02 a.m. had woken her up.
“I’m heartbroken and I’m outraged,” she said. “Our community deserves better than this.”
Sunday’s violence was the third time this year in the U.S. that at least six people have been killed in a mass shooting, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.
Two mass shootings have occurred in Sacramento over the past five week. Two mass shootings occurred in Sacramento over the past five weeks. On February 28, a father murdered his three daughters and a chaperone, as well as himself. This happened during a weekly supervised visiting. David Mora was 39 years old and was carrying a handmade semiautomatic rifle-style weapon. He was also under a restraining orders that prevented him from having a firearm.
The area where Sunday’s killings occurred is on the outskirts of the city’s main entertainment district and has many bars and restaurants. It’s anchored by the Golden One Center that attracts big-name concerts and is home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The area has seen significant investment by the city to encourage development.
Videos on social media showed what appeared to be an altercation before the gunfire in California’s capital city. Sgt. Zach Eaton, a police spokesperson, said they “don’t know if that fight actually lead to the shooting.”
Kelsey Schar said that while she was at Citizen Hotel’s fourth floor, she heard gunshots. She also saw dark flashes. She walked to the window and “saw a guy running and just shooting,” Schar told the AP.
Madalyn, her friend, stated that there was a lot of people in the street and one girl, who looked like she had been shot, lying down on the ground. The girl was rushed by security officers from nearby nightclubs with what appeared like napkins in an attempt to stop bleeding.
Twitter user @twitter posted footage of people running along the street to the sound effects of fast gunfire. Nightclubs close at 2 a.m. and it’s typical for streets to be full of people at that hour in the city of about 525,000, located 75 miles (120 kilometers) from San Francisco.
Pop duo Aly & AJ performed Saturday at Sacramento’s Crest Theatre and their tour bus was caught in the gunfire, the musicians said on Twitter.The tweet stated that no one was injured in the group’s tour.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated in a statement, that the administration is working closely with law enforcement officers.
“What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief,” he said.
Kay Harris, 32 years old, said she was sleeping when her relatives called to report that her brother Sergio Harris had died. He was at the London club, she said.
Pamela Harris, Sergio Harris’ mother, told The Sacramento Bee the family had not heard from him since the shooting.
“We just want to know what happened to him,” she said. “Not knowing anything is just hard to face.”
Berry Accius was a community activist and said he reached the spot shortly after it happened.
“The first thing I saw was like victims. I saw a young girl with a whole bunch of blood in her body, a girl taking off glass from her, a young girl screaming saying, ‘They killed my sister.’ A mother running up, ‘Where’s my son, has my son been shot?’“ he said.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in recent years it “has been a very difficult time in downtown Sacramento,” as the city’s development efforts took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic.
He added that the shooting “gives pause to our entire community,” but he urged people to continue visiting the area.
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The report was written by Stefanie Dazio and David Klepper (both from Providence, Rhode Island)
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