Mayor Christina Fugazi says the bullet fired into her home over the weekend was collateral damage from a nearby shooting, which she described as gang-related.
It was not an attempt to target her in her role as the city’s top elected leader.
Fugazi was asleep at home early Saturday when the round made its way into the house, her office reported. Neither she nor her partner were injured.
“I didn’t know at first. We heard the sounds. Our dogs went crazy,” Fugazi told KCRA-TV. “We heard the pop-pop-pop-pop-pop, and we thought it was fireworks at first.”
Police told Stocktonia gunfire in the area of the mayor’s home was a result of a 1:56 a.m. incident that wounded two teenagers.
Officers found a 17-year-old boy who had been shot in the 100 block of West Fremont Street, police said. Then an 18-year-old turned up at a hospital with a gunshot wound, reportedly another victim of gunfire from the same incident.
The teens’ injuries were considered non-life threatening, police said. The identities of the victims were not released.
The mayor released a statement in which she described the shooting as apparently gang-related and not related to her being Stockton’s mayor.
This year has been marked by assassinations or attacks against political figures around the country. They have ranged from the killing of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband and wounding of another couple in Minnesota to the recent gun death of Republican conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In Fugazi’s case, she said she did not realize at first that the commotion near her home involved gun violence. It wasn’t until later in the morning that a bullet hole was discovered in a window and bedroom wall.
“It wasn’t until I got the notification from the police department that, no, indeed, it was a shooting,” KCRA reported her as saying.
Police said their investigation continued over the weekend in the 1300 block of North Lincoln Street. Fugazi’s statement said one individual was in custody regarding the incident but police said no arrests have yet been made.
Police would not directly confirm the bullet that hit the mayor’s home was from the nearby shooting, only referring Stocktonia to the mayor’s statement regarding the incident.
“This shooting is a reminder that none of us are immune from the impacts of crime, regardless of our position or title,” Fugazi said in her statement.
“While the hard work of our police department, Office of Violence Prevention and city leadership has contributed to nearly a 50% reduction in crime in 2025, this incident only strengthens my commitment to ensuring every neighborhood in Stockton is safe and livable for all our residents,” she said.