Sacramento County deputies are examining a gun violence incident that erupted on the evening of April 18 at Howe Park in Sacramento as officers were dispersing an unauthorized event of hundreds of attendees.
What Led to the Shooting
Officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office initially got calls about the park at about 6:30 PM after getting calls of people potentially armed with concealed firearms. After that, a second call came in describing a possible fight taking place near the park.
Air support was sent to survey the area but reported no active disturbance. Nevertheless, deputies found that several hundred individuals had gathered without authorization without any permit or approval.
The Moment Gunfire Erupted
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies started clearing the unauthorized gathering by positioning themselves around the crowd and making announcements directing those gathered to clear out. Approximately 15 minutes were given for the crowd to leave.
Just as the crowd began to move that 20 to 25 gunshots cut through the air. Gunfire sent the crowd running in all directions. Responding personnel quickly moved to searching for victims.
The Shooting Victims
In total, four gunshot victims were confirmed as gunshot victims. Those injured — consisting of one woman and three men all reportedly in their early to late twenties — were taken to local Sacramento hospitals. Medical personnel indicated that two of the four had injuries classified as immediate, one person had injuries of a moderate nature, and one person's injuries were considered minor. Thankfully, each of the four victims was stable.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District arrived on scene and assisted with medical triage the four victims at the park.
The Investigation
The bulk of the shooting seemed to have been concentrated adjacent website to the Cottage Way side of the park alongside the Home Depot at the 2200 block of Howe Ave. CSI personnel recovered further ballistic evidence in the form of shell casings scattered along Cottage Way. Bullet damage were observed in the iron fence surrounding the Home Depot. The physical evidence indicated that at least one shooter had been shooting in a southerly direction from the Cottage Way area toward the Home Depot building and parking lot. That Home Depot location was temporarily locked down for a period of time. CSI units alongside detectives continued working for hours.
Suspect Information
Intelligence received through law enforcement radio communications confirmed that a suspect Kia had been detained in nearby Solano County. Four individuals were in the vehicle at the time of the stop. Deputies were heading to pick up the four detainees to bring the suspects back for formal questioning. Surveillance footage revealed that the shooting involved two separate gunmen.