SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A gang gunfight is now believed to have triggered the mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12 others early Sunday in downtown Sacramento, California, police said.
Update 3:05 p.m. EDT April 6: Police said that evidence from the Sacramento mass shooting suggests at least 5 shooters involved in a gang gunfight, The Associated Press reported.
In a new statement, the Sacramento Police Department said that an “exchange of gunfire took place between at least two groups of men.” While at least five shooters are believed to have been involved, police said that number may grow.
“As detectives learn more about the shootings, it is increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy,” the Sacramento Police Department said in its latest statement.
Update 9:15 a.m. EDT April 5: A second arrest has been made in the case, according to a statement from the Sacramento Police Department. Smiley Martin, 27, will be charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun. According to police, he is the brother of Dandrae Martin, the first person arrested in the case. Smiley Martin is being treated for injuries sustained during Sunday’s shooting and will be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail when he is determined to be fit for incarceration, police said.
Update 6:58 a.m. EDT April 5: Dandrae Martin, named a “related suspect” in the case, will make a court appearance Tuesday after being booked on assault and illegal firearm possession charges, CNN reported. In a statement, District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert made clear that Martin has not been arrested on homicide charges and the investigation continues, with more arrests likely.
Update 3:03 p.m. EDT April 4: Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester told KCRA that an arrest has been made in the case. Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested and booked on charges of assault with a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. No further details were released.
Update 1:00 p.m. EDT April 4: The Associated Press reports that the Sacramento County coroner has identified the six people killed in Sunday’s shooting: Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and Devazia Turner, 29.
Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester pleaded with the public to share videos and other evidence, according to The Associated Press.
Update 11:52 p.m. EDT April 3: Chief of Police Kathy Lester said it remained unclear late Sunday night what prompted the mass shooting, but law enforcement officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case told The New York Times that the incident appeared to be gang related.
One of the Times’ law enforcement sources said an estimated 72 shots appeared to have been fired in the altercation, with as many as six shooters potentially involved.
Lester also confirmed that the police had recovered at least one firearm, a stolen handgun, according to the newspaper.
Update 4:39 p.m. EST April 3: Sergio Harris, 38, was identified by his family as one of the six people killed in the mass shooting in downtown Sacramento, KCRA-TV reported. Harris was a father of three, the television station reported.
“My son was a very vivacious young man,” the victim’s mother, Pamela Harris, told KCRA. “Fun to be around, liked to party, smiling all the time. Don’t bother people. For this to happen is crazy. I’m just to the point right now, I don’t know what to do. I don’t even feel like this is real. I feel like this is a dream.”
The Sacramento Police Department has not released the names of the people killed.
Update 4:28 p.m. EDT April 3: Sacramento police said they recovered “at least one firearm” at the scene of the shooting but did not release any details, The Sacramento Bee reported. The number of people injured in the shooting was revised upward to 12, according to a news release from the Sacramento Police Department.
Update 1:11 p.m. EDT April 3: Authorities are not sure whether there was a lone gunman or multiple shooters, KCRA-TV reported. Sacramento police Chief Kathy Lester said her department was asking for assistance from anyone who might have videos or photographs that might provide leads in apprehending the responsible parties.
“This is “a very complex and complicated scene,” Lester said during a news conference.
Lester issued a plea to the public, asking for witnesses or anyone with recordings of the incident, which occurred at around 2 a.m. PDT, to contact police. They have also created a QR code for people to share related video.
Police have set up an information center has also been set up at City Hall, for relatives, The Sacramento Bee reported. In a tweet, the department set up a portal for people to submit videos.
11:58 a.m. EDT April 3: California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the “horrendous act” of gun violence after Sunday morning’s mass shooting in Sacramento.
“Sadly, we once again mourn the lives lost and for those injured in yet another horrendous act of gun violence,” Newsom said in a statement released through his office. “We cannot continue to let gun violence be the new normal.”
Update 10:06 a.m. EST April 3: Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said that “words can’t express” his grief over the shooting.
“Words can’t express my shock and sadness this morning,” Steinberg tweeted. “The numbers of dead and wounded are difficult to comprehend. We await more information about exactly what transpired in this tragic incident rising gun violence is the scourge of our city, state and nation, and I support all actions to reduce it.”
Update 9:40 a.m. EDT April 3: Sacramento police confirmed that six people were killed during the shooting and that 10 people were hospitalized.
“We now have confirmed that we had six people killed ... an additional 10 people were transported or self-transported to area hospitals,” Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester told reporters during a news conference. “So we are asking for the public’s help in helping us to identify the suspects in this and provide any information that you can to help us solve this.”
Update 8:54 a.m. EDT April 3: Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background, according to The Associated Press.
Berry Accius of Sacramento’s Voice of the Youth said he arrived in the area at about 2:30 a.m. PDT and found a “chaotic” scene, KXTV reported.
“A lot of victims with blood, just watching some of the families that didn’t know if their loved one was alive, running, trying to figure out what was happening, people distraught, people discombobulated,” Accius told the television station. “It was just horrific.”
“Another shooting. More lives lost. The national gun violence epidemic has hit our community -- again,” Sacramento city council member Katie Valenzuela tweeted.
Update 8:13 a.m. EDT April 3: According to a tweet from the Sacramento Police Department, officers found at least 15 shooting victims, including six who were fatally shot.
Residents were asked to avoid the area, which contains restaurants and bars that leads to the Golden 1 Center, the home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Original report: According to the Sacramento Police Department, the conditions of the victims are unknown, The Associated Press reported.
Police provided few details about the shooting but tweeted that a “large police presence will remain and the scene remains active.”
The shooting occurred in the area of 10th and J streets, Sacramento police spokesperson Sgt. Zach Eaton told CNN.
There was no official indication of how many people were shot or whether there were any fatalities.