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Authorities have vowed to find the “animals” who carried out the suspected gang-related shooting Four people died at a children’s birthday party.
There were three children aged eight, nine and 14 and a 21-year-old man. Killed in the attack on Saturday night. 14 other people were injured in the incident at a banquet hall in Stockton, California.
The eldest victim was identified as Susano Archuleta by his brother Emmanuel Lopez, whose younger daughter was also injured in the shooting.
“I’m very upset right now. My brother died in my arms,” Lopez said. LA TimesDescribed his sibling as someone who was “full of life and energy”.
Lopez said her 9-year-old daughter was shot in the head during the attack, but survived.
According to one, around 100-150 people had gathered at the party before the shooting started at 6 pm. statement From the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
Eyewitnesses described the scene after the shooting as “horrible”.
Priscilla Salas told LA Times She was at her boyfriend’s house down the hall when she ‘heard gunshots from a fully automatic machine.’ Weapon And pop’ with a handgun.
When she ran out of her house, she saw ambulances rushing to the scene and bodies of children being carried out of the building.
Another neighbor told Times The party was held for a 2-year-old child, and after the shooting he could hear parents crying for their children who could not find them at the scene.
Video footage of the shooting’s aftermath showed a large police presence around the banquet hall, while paramedics tended to the injured.
“These animals came in and shot children at a children’s birthday party, and none of us should stand for that,” San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said during a press conference Sunday. ABC News report,
Withrow also confirmed that, while shells and casings recovered from the scene were still being processed, authorities believe multiple shooters were involved in the attack.
“We believe this was not a random act,” he said. “They probably came to this area looking for someone in particular. It was not someone they were unfamiliar with.”
Stockton’s mayor, Christina Fugazi, urged anyone with information about the crime to come forward Contact Crime Stoppers during a press conference on Sunday,
“They should be writing their Christmas lists right now,” he said, referring to the children killed. “Their parents should be shopping for them for Christmas.
“And to think that their lives are over. I can’t even imagine what these families are going through. It breaks my heart.” Fugazi also described the attack as a “terrorist act”.
Speaking at a Sunday press conference, Withrow said several arrests were made Saturday evening but it was unclear whether they were connected to the shootings. The five men arrested seven miles south of the shooting, ranging in age from 16 to 16, were detained on weapons and gang charges.
A prayer meeting was organized for the victims’ families on Sunday evening in which about 150 people participated.
Press Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom said on x They were briefed on the shooting and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services was monitoring the situation and working with law enforcement.