Friday marks four years since the worst mass shooting in Sacramento’s history.<\/p>\n
On April 3, 2022, a mass shooting on K Street<\/a> left six people dead and 12 others shot. It instantly became one of the darkest days in California’s capital city.<\/p>\n “I think this year is heavier than past years because we’re finally starting trial,” said Leia Schenk, the founder of the anti-violence group Empact.<\/p>\n Schenk says the families of those killed are still struggling.<\/p>\n “They grieve just as much today as they did that day, and so it doesn’t get any better,” she said.<\/p>\n Since then, Sacramento police say they’ve been successful in reducing these types of violent crimes.<\/p>\n “We focused our resources where violence was highest,” Police Chief Kathy Lester said.<\/p>\n Lester noted that the number of homicides has fallen 22%, shootings have dropped 25%, and more than 4,200 guns were seized in over the last four years.<\/p>\n “We knew that getting guns out of the hands of people that were not supposed to have them had to be a top priority,” Lester said.<\/p>\n Despite those successes, there were still 131 people shot in Sacramento in 2025.<\/p>\n “It’s still far too many people that are the victims of gun violence,” Lester said. “I want to make sure that that’s clear. There’s still a lot of work to do.”<\/p>\n Schenk is urging city leaders to take more preventative measures to reduce violence.<\/p>\n “It’s frustrating to me because I don’t see a decline,” Schenk said.<\/p>\n She’s continuing to work with families as they prepare for the murder trial of the two mass-shooting suspects<\/a>, which is set to begin later this month.<\/p>\n Smiley Martin and his brother, Dandrae Martin, along with another man, Mtula Payton, all faced charges in the shooting. Smiley Martin died from methadone toxicity<\/a> while in custody back in 2024.<\/p>\n “When this is all over with, and court is over, and the judge decides whatever he decides, there’s still no winners in this, and that’s the heartbreaking piece,” Schenk said.<\/p>\n The City of Sacramento is currently facing a $66 million budget deficit, and there’s concern that some violence prevention efforts and police positions could be cut beginning in July.<\/p>\n