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Authorities in California asked the public for tips on Sunday in finding the person responsible for a shooting that left four people dead, three of them children, at a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton and wounded many more.
Three children — ages 8, 9 and 14 — and a 21-year-old were killed Saturday when gunfire broke out at the banquet hall, where at least 100 people were gathered, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said.
Detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.
Eleven people were also wounded, with at least one in critical condition, Withrow said. He urged anyone with information to contact his office with tips, cellphone video or witness accounts.
Investigators are shown numbering potential pieces of evidence at the scene of the Stockton, Calif., mass shooting on Sunday. (Ethan Swope/The Associated Press)
“This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this type of behaviour, when people will just walk in and kill children,” Withrow said. “And so if you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know. If not, you just become complacent and think this is acceptable behaviour.”
A sheriff’s office spokesperson, Heather Brent, said earlier that investigators believe it was a “targeted incident.” Officials did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.
Adult victim ID’d by relative
Mayor Christina Fugazi told reporters that the eight-year-old victim attended a local school and had a parent who worked for the Stockton Unified School District. The mayor said counsellors would be available this week at city schools.
She expressed anguish over the loss of victims so young.
“They should be writing their Christmas lists right now. Their parents should be out shopping for them for Christmas. And to think that their lives are over. I can’t even begin to imagine what these families are going through. Breaks my heart,” Fugazi said Sunday.
Emmanuel Lopez told the Los Angeles Times that his brother, 21-year-old Susano Archuleta, was shot in the neck and died at the scene.
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Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said early indications suggest the shooting may have been a “targeted incident.” Police are still searching for the shooting suspect.
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. inside the hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses.
Stockton is a city of 320,000, about 65 kilometres south of Sacramento. With 54 homicides in 2024, Stockton’s homicide rate was significantly higher than the state average. As of October, there had been 34 killings this year, according to city data.