What we know one day after 6 are killed, 12 wounded in downtown Sacramento mass shooting
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Downtown Sacramento mass shooting
Six people were killed and 12 others injured in a mass shooting in downtown Sacramento early Sunday. Read The Bee’s full coverage:
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One day after the worst mass shooting in city history shook downtown Sacramento as bars and nightclubs hit closing time Sunday morning, police announced a suspect has been taken into custody, but much remains unknown about the incident as a massive police investigation continues.
Here are the basic facts, according to Chief Kathy Lester and the Sacramento Police Department: 18 people were hit by gunfire shortly after 2 a.m. in the area of 10th and K streets. Six were pronounced dead at the scene, and 12 others were taken or self-transported to hospitals with various gunshot injuries.
The Police Department in a statement Monday morning said a “related suspect,” identified as 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, was arrested in connection with the shooting and faces preliminary charges of assault with a deadly weapon and illegal firearm possession.
Lester had said Sunday afternoon that police could confirm “multiple” shooters were involved in the incident.
Streets in the area remained closed until early Monday morning, as law enforcement investigated a sprawling crime scene that spanned several city blocks a block from the California state Capitol.
Here is more of what we know, and what we do not know, as of midday Monday.
First suspect arrested
Martin was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail downtown on charges of assault and illegal firearms possession, police said.
The department news release midday Monday did not specify how many suspects are still considered outstanding.
“As the investigation progressed, Sacramento Police Department SWAT and detectives served search warrants at three residences in the area,” the news release said. “During the execution of the search warrants, at least one handgun was recovered.”
Authorities had also located a stolen handgun at the shooting scene, Lester said Sunday.
Update on injured victims
The Police Department also in Monday’s statement said the numbers stand at six dead and 12 injured. All six deceased victims died at the scene early Sunday morning.
All 12 surviving victims have gunshot wounds, “ranging from minor to critical but stable,” the news release said.
A spokeswoman early Monday said two of four victims treated at UC Davis Medical Center spokeswoman had been released from the hospital. The other two remained in treatment as of 8:15 a.m. Their conditions were not disclosed.
Monday’s news release also said investigators found three buildings and three vehicles that had been hit by gunfire and over 100 expended shell casings at the scene. The department said it had received more than 100 photo and video files sent by witnesses to the community evidence portal set up Sunday.
All deceased victims identified by coroner
Coroner’s officials by Monday morning identified all six victims killed in Sunday’s shooting.
The three men killed were Sergio Harris, 38; DeVazia Turner, 29; and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32.
The three women killed were Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office formally identified Harris Sunday evening, then released the remaining five victims’ names at 9 a.m. Monday.
Sergio’s wife, Leticia Harris, and his mother, Pamela Harris, who arrived at the scene Sunday morning and remained there for hours, said Sergio Harris had gone to a nightclub called London late Saturday and never returned.
A law enforcement officer took Pamela and Leticia Harris behind police tape near 9th and K streets and talked to them. Pamela Harris then cried out and the two began to hug each other.
Bodies stayed on the streets, covered, for more than 18 hours on Sunday before they were transferred to the coroner’s office around 8:30 p.m.
The police chief said in Sunday afternoon’s news conference that the bodies remained at the scene for so long in order to maintain the integrity of a complex crime scene in which the shooters are still at large.
‘Varying’ injuries among 12 wounded
The Police Department in a Sunday news release said the 12 who were transported or who self-transported to hospitals had “varying degrees of injuries.”
A spokeswoman for UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, which received four victims, said two victims have been discharged from the hospital and two remained in treatment as of 8 a.m. Monday. The conditions of the two patients still at the hospital was not released.
Based on Sacramento Fire Department radio traffic from early Sunday morning, at least three victims were rushed to hospitals with injuries described as “immediate,” meaning their wounds were serious or life-threatening. Two of those three were taken to UC Davis Medical Center, which is the region’s only Level I trauma center.
Multiple shooters reported, but few suspect details
Lester in a news conference just after 3 p.m. Sunday said her department could confirm that “multiple” shooters were involved in the mass shooting that morning.
The department could not confirm exactly how many shooters were involved; the circumstances leading up to the shooting; or whether the shooters opened fire indiscriminately or were targeting specific people or groups.
What types of guns were used?
Lester said police recovered at least one firearm from the scene, which was a stolen handgun.
It was not clear what other types of firearms might have been used.
Bystander cellphone video circulating on social media captured audio of the gunfire. Dozens of rounds can be heard, including a trill of about 30 shots fired at a very rapid rate.
Lester said Sunday that the department could not confirm whether any homemade “ghost guns” were used in the shooting.
Fight preceded shooting, but connection not clear
Video posted to social media showed a large fight breaking out in front of a bar near K and 10th streets. The cellphone footage showed a group of people fighting for a few moments before a stream of gunfire could be heard, leading the group to scatter and run away.
The Police Department confirmed in Sunday’s news release that it is aware of the footage and that authorities are “working to determine what, if any, relation these events have to the shooting.”
Police set up a website portal and associated QR code for witnesses to submit any photos or videos from the incident.
Where in Sacramento did the mass shooting happen?
Sunday’s crime scene spanned a few blocks centered around the 1000 block of K Street, a strip of nightclubs not far from Golden 1 Center and the state Capitol.
Police have not given a detailed account of where exactly the shots were fired, and department spokesman Sgt. Zach Eaton said Sunday he did not know whether any shots were fired inside of any bars or nightclubs.
Like the Harris family, victim De’Vazia Turner’s father, Frank Turner, told The Bee that his son had gone to London, a nightclub at the corner of 9th and K streets, on Saturday night.
London released a statement via social media on Sunday, writing that the club “enforces strict security protocols and begins closing procedures at 1:30 a.m.”
“While this incident occurred a block away, we will continue to make ourselves available to the Sacramento Police Department and provide any information we can during their investigation,” London’s statement continued.
Lester said the city surveillance cameras set up near 10th and K streets were able to “capture portions of the shootings.” That video footage had not been publicly released.
What is open and closed downtown?
Roads closed near 10th and K streets were back open before 6 a.m. Monday, police said.
The Blue Line of Sacramento Regional Transit operated a bus bridge Sunday between the Globe and 13th Street light rail stations, which were closed Sunday. The bus bridge ended and normal light rail operations resumed by 6 a.m. Monday, Regional Transit said in a tweet.
A handwritten sign in London’s front window Monday morning read, “We regret to inform that our brunch has been postponed.”
In addition to nightclubs at the scene that were behind police tape, Mix Downtown near 16th and L streets, a few blocks east of the crime scene, also remained closed Sunday night.
A number of events scheduled to take place in downtown Sacramento proceeded as planned Sunday, including a 10-mile run hosted by USA Track & Field, two performances of “Wicked” at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, and an NBA game between the Kings and Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center.
The shooting happened hours after rapper Tyler, the Creator performed Saturday night at Golden 1 Center.
Singers Aly and AJ, a pop duo featuring sisters Alyson and Amanda Michalka, who opened their new tour at the nearby Crest Theatre on Saturday night, wrote on Twitter that their tour bus was “caught in the crossfire” after the show.
At 8:30 a.m. Monday, there were few signs of the mayhem that occurred. State workers rushed past a makeshift memorial — candles, flowers, a stuffed animal — assembled on the sidewalk at 10th and L streets.
At 10th and K, a few pieces of broken glass littered the sidewalk in front of Sharif Jewelers. More glass was strewn inside, on the floor of the shop.
Arguably the most visible reminder of Sunday’s incident: TV news crews, from Sacramento, the Bay Area and beyond, clustered around 10th and K, sipping coffee and doing live stand-ups.
Resources available for victims’ families
Sacramento City Hall opened Sunday open as an information center for the families of victims of the downtown mass shooting , police said. City Hall is at 915 I St., about three blocks from the scene of the shooting.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced a family assistance center would be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Wednesday at Cal Expo “to provide support and services to victims and their families” affected by the K Street shooting.
The Cal Expo assistance center is being set up at the Lot D entrance on 1600 Exposition Blvd.
“This center is staffed by Victim Witness Advocates, the American Red Cross emotional support team, and Sacramento crisis/trauma chaplaincy,” DA officials wrote.
The District Attorney’s Office says several resources will remain available after the center closes:
▪ Victim Witness Program at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, 916-874-5701;
▪ Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Sacramento, 916-857-1801, which is available 24 hours a day;
▪ American Red Cross, 916-993-7070.
Vigil planned for Monday night
Steinberg and community leaders will hold a vigil for the shooting victims at 7:30 p.m. in Ali Youssefi Square, at 7th and K streets, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
Community activist Berry Accius will also speak at Monday’s vigil.
Other activists held an impromptu vigil near the scene Sunday night at Cesar Chavez Plaza.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 8:52 AM with the headline "What we know one day after 6 are killed, 12 wounded in downtown Sacramento mass shooting."
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