{"id":276024,"date":"2026-04-19T21:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/276024\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:58:20","slug":"uc-davis-boosts-security-for-picnic-day-after-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/276024\/","title":{"rendered":"UC Davis boosts security for Picnic Day after shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UC Davis Marching Band\u2019s \u201cYoo-hoo\u201d chant echoed on campus Saturday, kicking off the 112th Picnic Day<\/a> \u2014 the annual open-house celebration at the Yolo County campus.<\/p>\n

Picnic Day drew national attention last year after shots were fired at nearby Community Park<\/a>, wounding three people.<\/p>\n

Those attending Picnic Day are reminded of last year\u2019s shooting, including Carmichael resident Cathy Les, whose husband is a graduate of UC Davis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not feeling nervous, but I\u2019m aware of it,\u201d Les said. \u201cHopefully nothing happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alleged shooter, Joseph Davis, was sentenced earlier this week in federal court<\/a> to two years and six months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a gun. He still faces state criminal charges in Yolo Superior Court in connection with last year\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n

Community Park was quiet early Saturday afternoon, as a child played with a plastic baseball bat and bicyclists passed through. A portion of the park containing construction equipment was fenced off.<\/p>\n

The city of Davis implemented a \u201cSafety Enhancement Zone\u201d through 6 a.m. Sunday, increasing violations in those areas, according to the 2026 Picnic Day schedule of events. For example, a general noise citation could result in a fee of $560.<\/p>\n

Safety zones are near Walnut Park, Slide Hill Park and north of campus to Covell Boulevard, according to the schedule.<\/p>\n

\"UC UC Davis alumni Miranda Zhu plays chess with her son Anthony on the UC Davis campus during Picnic Day on Saturday. Jos\u00e9 Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com \"Casper, Casper, a border collie, leaps for a flying disc thrown by her owner Sam Lumley during a Picnic Day event at UC Davis on Saturday. Jos\u00e9 Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an increased emphasis on safety this year, so lets commit to #SafeCelebrations, and pledge to make today a safer, more enjoyable experience for everyone,\u201d Chancellor Gary May said during his opening remarks.<\/p>\n

Picnic Day is a critical day for the Davis Police Department, according to Lt. John Evans, and the number of officers in the city is doubled compared to the typical day.<\/p>\n

\u201cPicnic Day is a day that every single Davis PD officer works,\u201d Evans said. \u201cIt truly is an \u2018all hands on deck\u2019 day for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Arielle Arielle Jackson sprays sunscreen on her friend Riley Campbell on the UC Davis campus during Picnic Day on Saturday. Jos\u00e9 Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Davis police are also working with other agencies, according to Evans, including, but not limited to, the Yolo County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Woodland Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Roseville Police Department and Folsom Police Department.<\/p>\n

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, Evans said there were no active threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is always concern for public safety when you have tens of thousands of people gathering,\u201d Evans said. \u201cEspecially when you consider that many of these gatherings feature a large consumption of alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s going on at Picnic Day?<\/p>\n

While safety was top on mind, attendees cheered as the parade departed from Wickson Hall. The parade is a favorite to many, including Les, with nearly 70 entries.<\/p>\n

\"The The UC Davis Marching Band marches Saturday at the 112th Picnic Day in Davis. Corey Schmidt corey.schmidt@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

The student-organized event is aimed to bring students, alumni and the Davis community together, all while showcasing what the university has to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of you might be visiting Davis for the first time, others might be returning to a place filled with memories\u201d UC Davis senior and Picnic Day Chair Trinh Vo said. \u201cNo matter where your journey begins, today we all share the same destination, home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picnic Day has displays from student organizations and university resources, alongside entertainment like racing dachshunds and the Davis Chinese Orchestra.<\/p>\n

Also new this year, the UC Davis spring football game was being played during Picnic Day.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 1:16 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Corey Schmidt<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Corey Schmidt is a watchdog reporter for the Sacramento Bee, focusing on Folsom, El Dorado Hills and Sacramento County\u2019s eastern suburbs. Previously, he was the government watchdog reporter for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. Schmidt received his bachelor\u2019s degree from DePaul University in Chicago and his master\u2019s degree from Yale University.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UC Davis Marching Band\u2019s \u201cYoo-hoo\u201d chant echoed on campus Saturday, kicking off the 112th Picnic Day \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-276024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}