One day after a mass shooting in north Stockton that killed four people, the San Joaquin County sheriff said investigators had found weapons at the scene and believed multiple shooters were involved — but he added that they weren’t certain whether the weapons had been used in the attack.
San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said authorities still had no one in custody in the case, and he pleaded for help from people who might know more.
“We still need the public’s help on this,” Withrow said. “This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this.”
He said he could not confirm reports that the shooting was gang-related, despite earlier statements from Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi that she had been told about such potential ties. “We’re not going to make a statement like that,” he said.
“We’re confident that this was not a random act. They walked into this area and were probably looking for somebody in particular,” Withrow said. “Why they did that, what they’re part of, who they are, we don’t know.”
But Withrow said he didn’t believe there was a reason to fear random violence. “This wasn’t some terrorist-type attack where they walked in and just wanted to kill people,” he said.
Withrow confirmed the number of victims to be 15, including four who were killed — ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. He had few updates on those who had been injured, but said he had been told at least one was still in critical condition.
He said it appeared the Saturday evening shooting “started indoors and worked its way outdoors” at a banquet hall on Lucile Avenue in north Stockton. He said the event began as a family birthday party, but he did not offer a sequence of events on how the shooting unfolded.
He said weapons had been found on the roof of the facility, but that it was not immediately clear whether those weapons were related to Saturday night’s shooting. He said ballistics tests from the shooting were not yet complete, and he could not say whether the deadly shooting involved rifles or handguns.
“We don’t know if we’ve recovered the weapon or not,” Withrow said.
He said several cars had been towed from the area, including some with bullet holes, but added that those cars could not immediately be connected to the shooting until they had been further examined.
The news conference commenced even as a grassroots vigil for the shooting victims was under way near the scene of Saturday’s shooting.
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Saturday night shooting
The gun violence occurred at what officials described as a family gathering at a banquet hall on Lucile Avenue in north Stockton. Emergency calls flooded in shortly before 6 p.m., and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office responded, finding what investigators said appeared to be a “targeted incident.”
Officials initially said 14 people had been wounded in the shooting. The scene, on Lucile Avenue just off Thornton Road, was cordoned off overnight as an investigation proceeded.
Initially, law enforcement officials did not release the name of the venue or any descriptions of the guests or shooting victims. But Stockton city officials posted statements online saying the event had been a children’s birthday party. A venue called Monkey Space opened recently at 1943 Lucile Ave. in the former home to Kudos Children’s Theatre, which closed late last year.
On Sunday, sheriff’s spokesperson Heather Brent said authorities had not been able to confirm the name of the business but confirmed it was located in the space of the former children’s theater. She said 100 to 150 people were in attendance at the event Saturday night when gunfire broke out.
Brent said earlier Sunday that the number of victims had increased to 15 and that the four people killed were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. No suspect or suspects have yet been identified in the shooting, Brent said, adding that “it might one, it might be two.” She could not say whether any weapons had been found at the scene.
Because the fatal shooting happened on a pocket of county land in the midst of the city, the Sheriff’s Office was the lead investigating agency, but city and county officials have spoken publicly about the details. Brent said other law enforcement agencies were assisting the Sheriff’s Office, including the Stockton and Manteca police departments, the California Department of Justice and the FBI.
Authorities asked anyone with information to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office at (209) 468-4400 or Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600.
On Sunday, Mayor Christina Fugazi announced that Crime Stoppers was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the attack. The mayor said she was matching that with another $10,000, and Councilwoman Mariela Ponce was offering a $5,000 contribution, for a total reward of $25,000.
Stocktonia staff writers Shaylee Navarro and Cassie Dickman contributed to this report.
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