Children and adults were among those shot, according to Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff\u2019s Office. Officials did not immediately release the conditions of those taken to area hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly indications suggest this may have been a targeted incident,\u201d Brent said at a news conference. \u201cThis is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Those killed were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21, Brent said Sunday. Authorities have not released the names of the victims.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Patrick Withrow made a plea to the community Sunday to continue providing information to his office about the shooting, no matter how small it may be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confident in our team and with the work that we have done so far that we will find these animals that did this and bring them justice, but we still need the public\u2019s help.\u201d Withrow said.<\/p>\n
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. in the northern part of the city, according to the sheriff\u2019s office<\/a>. The banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with several businesses, including a Dairy Queen, was hosting a family celebration that investigators were told was a birthday party for a young child with 100 to 150 people in attendance, Brent said. Stockton is about 40 miles south of Sacramento.<\/p>\n The suspected shooter fled and remains at large, Brent said. Officials are urging the public for help with information as detectives work to determine a possible motive. \u201cInvestigators are exploring all possibilities,\u201d Brent said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re confident that this was not a random act,\u201d Withrow said Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019re not gonna say whether it\u2019s gang related or not, until we have all the facts in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Withrow said he drove more than eight hours and, had to, \u201cput down my grandbabies to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else\u2019s babies away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart goes out to the families of those killed, the injured, and the survivors,\u201d said former Rep. Gabby Giffords<\/a>, herself a survivor of gun violence and founder of the gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we await for more information on the shooting, what is painfully obvious is that we need our federal leaders to act to stop gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n First responders close off a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. – Ethan Swope\/AP<\/p>\n There have been at least 380 mass shootings in the US so far this year \u2013 defined as when at least four people are shot, not including the shooter \u2013 according to the Gun Violence Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n In January, a shooting at Martin\u2019s Super Market in Elkhart, Indiana, left two people dead and two police officers injured. In August, a man walked into the lobby of a Park Avenue skyscraper in New York City, killed a police officer, then opened fire on other innocent strangers. The next month in Colorado, a shooting at Evergreen High School left two students critically wounded after a fellow student allegedly opened fire during their third week of classes.<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> has been briefed on the shooting, according to his office.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hearts break for their families and the entire Stockton community,\u201d Newsom said<\/a> in a post on X Sunday.<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/94b345f09a51e6119c932424f051e581.jpeg\"\/)
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