SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The usual crowds filled the streets as bars and nightclubs were closing in California’s capital city of Sacramento when the sound of rapid-fire gunshots sent people running in terror. In a matter of seconds, the latest U.S. mass shooting had left six people dead and 12 wounded.
Sacramento police said they were searching for at least two people who opened fire around 2 a.m. Sunday on the outskirts of the city’s downtown entertainment district, anchored by the Golden One Arena that hosts concerts and the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The team’s home game against the Golden State Warriors went on as scheduled Sunday night and began with a moment of silence for the victims.
Police Chief Kathy Lester revealed few details from the investigation and pleaded with the public to share videos and other evidence that could lead to the killers.
“The scale of violence that just happened in our city is unprecedented during my 27 years here,” Lester told reporters during a news conference at police headquarters. “We are shocked and heartbroken by this tragedy. But we are also resolved as an agency to find those responsible and to secure justice for the victims and the families.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and other city officials decried escalating violence in the city while also urging people to keep coming downtown for events like NBA games and performances of the Broadway musical “Wicked.”
“We can never accept it as normal and we never will,” Steinberg said of the shooting. “But we also have to live our lives.”
The gunfire erupted just after a fight broke out on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars, but police said they did not know if the altercation was connected to the shooting. Video from witnesses posted on social media showed rapid gunfire for at least 45 seconds as people screamed and ran for cover.
The gunfire startled sleeping guests at the Citizen Hotel, which included a wedding party and fans of the rapper Tyler the Creator, who performed at a concert hours earlier.
From her window on the fourth floor of the hotel, 18-year-old Kelsey Schar said she saw a man running while firing a gun. She could see flashes from the weapon in the darkness as people ran for cover.
Schar’s friend, Madalyn Woodward, said she saw a girl who appeared to have been shot in the arm lying on the ground. Security guards from a nearby nightclub rushed to help the girl with what looked like napkins to try to stanch the bleeding.
Police found a stolen handgun, but they did not know if it had been used in the shooting. The dead included three men and three women. Authorities were still working to notify family members, and had publicly identified only one victim as of late Sunday, 38-year-old Sergio Harris, without providing a cause of death. Of the 12 wounded, at least four had critical injuries, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.
Sunday’s violence was the third time in the U.S. this year 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. And it was the second mass shooting in Sacramento in the last five weeks.
President Joe Biden called for action on gun crimes in a statement Sunday.
“Today, America once again mourns for another community devastated by gun violence,” Biden said. “But we must do more than mourn; we must act.”
On Feb. 28, a father killed his three daughters, a chaperone and himself in a Sacramento church during a weekly supervised visitation. David Mora, 39, was armed with a homemade semiautomatic rifle-style weapon, even though he was under a restraining order that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
The crime scene Sunday sprawled across two city blocks, closing off a large swath of the city’s downtown. Bodies remained on the pavement throughout the day as Lester said investigators were working to process a “really complex and complicated scene” to make sure investigators gathered all the evidence they could to “see the perpetrators of this crime brought to justice.”
Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area, said she’s fielded too many phone calls reporting violence in her district during her 15 months in office. She cried at a news conference as she told reporters that the latest phone call woke her up at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
“I’m heartbroken and I’m outraged,” she said. “Our community deserves better than this.”
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SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Six people were killed and 10 injured in a mass shooting early Sunday as bars and nightclubs were closing in downtown Sacramento and police in California’s state capital were searching for at least one suspect.
Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference that police were patrolling the area two blocks from the Capitol at about 2 a.m. when they heard gunfire and rushed to the scene. They found a large crowd gathered and six people dead in the street. Another 10 either took themselves or were transported to hospitals. No information was provided about their conditions.
Authorities urged witnesses or anyone with recordings of the shooting to contact police.
“We’re asking for the public’s help in helping us to identify the suspects in this,” Lester said. Asked if authorities were searching for one or more than one suspects, Lester told reporters that she did not know.
Shortly after the shooting, video was posted on Twitter that showed people running through the street amid the sound of rapid gunfire in the city of about 525,000 people located 75 miles (120 kilometers) from San Francisco.
Kelsey Schar, 18, was staying on the fourth floor of Citizen Hotel when she said she heard gunshots and saw flashes in the dark. She walked to the window and “saw a guy running and just shooting,” Schar told The Associated Press in an interview.
Her friend, Madalyn Woodard said she saw a crowd in the street scatter amid the gunfire. A girl who appeared to have been shot in the arm lying on the ground, Woodard said. Security guards from a nearby nightclub rushed to help the girl with what looked like napkins to try to stanch the bleeding.
Sunday’s violence was the third time in the U.S. this year that at least six people were killed in a mass shooting, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. And it was the second mass shooting in Sacramento in the last five weeks.
On Feb. 28, a father killed his three daughters, a chaperone and himself in a church during a weekly supervised visitation. David Mora, 39, was armed with a homemade semiautomatic rifle-style weapon, even though he was under a restraining order that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who represents area where the shooting happened, said she’s fielded phone calls reporting many violent incidents in her district in the 15 months she’s been in office.
Valenzuela cried at a news conference as she told reporters that the latest phone call woke her up at 2:30 a.m. Sunday with details about the latest tragedy.
“I’m heartbroken and I’m outraged,” she said. “Our community deserves better than this.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg decried rising gun violence at the news conference and said city officials would support the victims. He said the city has worked hard to attract people back to its downtown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that despite the shooting, the city was safe.
“This morning our city has a broken heart,” Steinberg said. “This is a senseless and unacceptable tragedy.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that his administration was working closely with law enforcement.
“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.
The area where Sunday’s shooting occurred is packed with restaurants and bars. Nightclubs close at 2 a.m. and it’s normal for streets to be full of people at that hour.
Kay Harris, 32, told AP she was asleep when one of her family members called to say they thought her brother Sergio Harris had been killed. She said she thought he had been at the London nightclub, which is near the shooting.
Harris said she has been to the club a few times and described it as a place for “the younger crowd.” She spent the morning circling the block waiting for news.
“Very much so a senseless, violent act,” she said.
Pamela Harris, Sergio Harris’ mother, told The Sacramento Bee the family has not heard from him yet.
“We just want to know what happened to him,” Pamela Harris told the newspaper. “Not knowing anything is just hard to face.”
Berry Accius, a community activist, said he came to the scene shortly after the shooting 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.
UC Davis Medical Center received four patients from the downtown shooting, spokesperson Stephanie Winn said. She declined to provide their genders or conditions, referring media to police.
Ten ambulances and fifty first responders from the Sacramento Fire Department responded to the shooting, according to Capt. Keith Wade.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Police in California say six people are dead and at least nine others have been injured after a shooting in downtown Sacramento.
The Sacramento Police Department says the shooting happened early Sunday morning.
Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background. Video showed multiple ambulances had been sent to the scene.
Police provided few details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting but said in a tweet that a “large police presence will remain and the scene remains active.” Phone messages seeking comment were left with the Sacramento police.
Residents were asked to avoid the area, which is packed with restaurants and bars that leads to the Golden One Center, where the Sacramento Kings play basketball.
Phone messages seeking comment were left with the Sacramento police.
Berry Accius, a community activist, said he came to the scene shortly after the shooting 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.
Kay Harris, 32, said she was asleep when one of her family members called to say they thought her brother had been killed. She said she thought he was at London, a nightclub at 1009 10th Street.
Harris said she has been to the club a few times and described it as a place for “the younger crowd.”
Police have the streets around the club closed, with yellow police tape fluttering in the early morning breeze. She has spent the morning circling the block waiting for news.
“Very much so a senseless violent act,” she said.