SACRAMENTO (CBS SF/AP) — Police in Sacramento are investigating a mass shooting downtown early Sunday morning that left six people dead and at least 12 others injured.
Sacramento police say the shooting happened near 10th and J streets. About 8-square blocks of downtown Sacramento have been cordoned off as officers investigate the scene.
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Sacramento Police chief Kathy Lester told reporters the 10 injured either were transported or self transported to local hospitals. There was no immediate word on their conditions.
#BreakingUpdate 8 square blocks of Downtown Sacramento taped off after shooting leaving 6 dead and 10 hurt. Police responded to gunfire just after 2am. Perimeter will stay up for several hours while investigators scour street for evidence. pic.twitter.com/U0jNM5T16L
— stevelarge (@largesteven) April 3, 2022
She said patrol officers heard the gunfire about 2 a.m. and quickly responded to the scene. When they arrived, they found a large crowd gathered on the street and six people dead.
Lester did not give specifics on the type of gun used or provide suspect descriptions. The suspects remain at large.
“We are asking the public’s help in helping us identify the suspects in this and any information you can to solve this,” she said.
Lester called it “a very complex and complicated scene.”
Sacramento police released additional information late Sunday morning, saying that a total of twelve shooting victims with varying degrees of injuries were accounted for in addition to the six victims who were pronounced dead at the scene.
During the preliminary phases of the shooting investigation, police recovered at least one firearm at the scene.
9th Street to 13th Street remain closed between L Street and J Street downtown as the investigation into the deadly shooting continues.
ADVISORY: 9th St to 13th St is closed between L St & J St as officers investigate a shooting with multiple victims. Conditions unknown at this time. Please avoid the area as a large police presence will remain and the scene remains active. Please follow this thread for updates. pic.twitter.com/lGhUJCnLWe
— Sacramento Police (@SacPolice) April 3, 2022
Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background. Video also showed multiple ambulances had been sent to the scene.
Five of the injured were transported to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment.
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.”
Shortly before 9 a.m., police posted on Twitter that they were aware of social media video that appeared to show an altercation preceding the shooting. Police are encourage any community members with video related the mass shooting to provide it to Sacramento police.
We are aware of a social media video that appears to show an altercation that preceded the shooting. We encourage any community members with related video to follow the link/QR code below to submit the video to SPD. https://t.co/bQBuBtDM8m pic.twitter.com/pPdrHVkKuX
— Sacramento Police (@SacPolice) April 3, 2022
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 and have a Sunday night game scheduled against the Golden State Warriors.
In a series of tweets, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg reacted to the shooting.
Words can’t express my shock & sadness this morning. The numbers of dead and wounded are difficult to comprehend. We await more information about exactly what transpired in this tragic incident. (more)
— @mayor_Steinberg (@Mayor_Steinberg) April 3, 2022
“Words can’t express my shock & sadness this morning. 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. Our new Police Chief, Kathy Lester, has made it a top priority, and I stand firmly behind her,” Steinberg wrote.
During a press conference about the mass shooting late Sunday morning with other Sacramento city leaders, Steinberg railed against gun violence, calling it “a sickness in our country and a sickness in our culture.”
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While authorities have not identified any of the victims yet, on Sunday morning family members told CBS 13 that 29-year-old DeVazia Turner among those killed in mass shooting.
#SacramentoMassShooting 29-year-old DeVazia Turner among those killed in mass shooting. Father Frank tells us he was out at bar on K Street and when he left he got caught in gunfire. pic.twitter.com/bz01uj13uq
— stevelarge (@largesteven) April 3, 2022
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.
“You know, commotion, trauma. It’s just a lot of things that, you know, you don’t want to see.”
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. Haris spent the morning circling the block waiting for news.
“Very much so a senseless violent act,” she said.
Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement regarding the mass shooting in the state capital:
“Sadly, we once again mourn the lives lost and for those injured in yet another horrendous act of gun violence. Jennifer and I send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and to the wider community impacted by this terrible tragedy.
“As it is early in this investigation, my Administration will continue to work closely with local and state law enforcement as we monitor the situation.
“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. The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and we must resolve to bring an end to this carnage.”
Sacramento police encourage any witnesses with information regarding the investigation into the mass shooting to contact the SPD dispatch center at (916) 808-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357). Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted using the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app.
This is the second mass shooting in Sacramento in the space of just over a month. In late February, three young girls and their chaperone were shot dead by their father during a supervised visit at a Sacramento church before turning the gun on himself.
Authorities later confirmed that the gunman, identified as 39-yearold David Mora, had overstayed his visa after entering California from his native Mexico on Dec. 17, 2018, on a non-immigrant visitor visa and was in the state illegally.
Because Mora had overstayed his visa, ICE asked to be notified when he was released from jail a week prior to the deadly mass shooting after he was arrested in Merced County for assaulting a California Highway Patrol officer.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office told the AP that under California’s so-called sanctuary state law, it does not notify immigration officials about in-custody people who are being released, and ICE was never notified.
The shooting is the 12th mass shooting in California this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
There have not been any mass shootings in the Bay Area so far this year. The last of note to occur was the San Jose VTA rail yard attack in May of 2021 that left 10 people dead.
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All told in 2021 there were 49 mass shootings in California, 15 of which were in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Oakland recording the most violence of any one city, with 46 people shot, five of them fatally.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.