The father of three said he would have preferred the school notify parents about the shooting and that he might have kept his daughter home out of safety.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Shootings in Sacramento early Wednesday shut down two major highways, snarling traffic for commuters and parents taking children to school.
One of the shootings unfolded near Smyth Academy of Arts and Sciences Middle School off Dos Rios Street around 5:30 a.m. Sacramento police responded, but the California Highway Patrol said it is leading the investigation.
A man was shot and taken to the hospital, according to the CHP.
By late morning, a person in a protective suit was power washing a parking lot outside the school, cleaning up what remained from the gunfire.
CHP shut down Highway 160 at Richards Boulevard and Interstate 5 South at Sutterville for about 30 minutes so investigators could walk shoulder to shoulder along the freeway searching for bullet casings. The closures backed up traffic during the morning commute.
Zulqurnain Syed, co-owner of Ninja Tire, said he was dropping off his daughter at the school around 7:55 a.m. when traffic came to a standstill.
“It’s really scary,” Syed said.
“Every day I drop my daughter at school around 7:55. And, I was coming from home and there’s a long line, there’s a traffic, and, my daughter told me like, we are late, we’re getting late. So, I see there’s a police, they blocked the road,” he said.
A car struck by multiple gunshots was seen near Vine and Dos Rios streets, according to Osvaldo Tinoco, an employee at Linda Taqueria, who said coworkers told him what they saw.
“My coworkers tell me they saw a car near the school, impacted by multiple gunshots. And we’re hearing that someone was shooting at people. And to be honest, that’s worrisome for people who are commuting and the cars,” Tinoco said.
Syed, who opened his business a few weeks ago near the school, said he only learned about the shooting from reporters.
“I’m learning from you, like there’s a shooting and we are concerned about my children. My daughter is there and the other children… Everybody has the children, so it’s I’m concerned about it,” he said.
The father of three said he would have preferred the school notify parents about the shooting and that he might have kept his daughter home out of safety.
Twin Rivers Unified School District referred questions to Sacramento police.
CHP serves search warrant in connection to highway shootings in Sacramento
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