Children's party shooting update:
• 50 shots from at least five guns, sheriff says.
• Deputies were initially sent to the wrong location.
• Scene from officers' body cameras is "horrendous."
More than a week after the mass shooting that left four dead in north Stockton, the San Joaquin County sheriff said more than 50 shots were fired at the scene of a child’s birthday party and cautioned that the investigation could take months to complete.
Sheriff Patrick Withrow also lauded investigators’ work and described a chaotic scene that slowed the initial arrival of deputies.
He said he had watched the body camera footage from the first officers who arrived at the scene. “And it was horrendous,” he said.
The Nov. 29 shooting shook the community not only because of the rampant violence but because so few details emerged in the days afterward.
The four dead included three children and a 21-year-old; 13 other people were wounded. Authorities said they believed it was a targeted attack and involved multiple gunmen, but they have not publicly identified a suspect, a motive or other key details.
In an unusual briefing to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning, Withrow offered updates on the status of the investigation, with new details about the shooting, including:
More than 50 shots fired: Withrow said investigators concluded there were more than 50 shots fired at the birthday party. “We have over 50 casings on the ground that our federal partners at ATF are processing for us,” he said.
Because the shooting happened on a small pocket of unincorporated county land within Stockton, the Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency on the case. Authorities have said federal law enforcement partners have been assisting with the case since the first hours after the shooting.
5 guns fired: “We also know now that there were at least — at least — five firearms being fired at this birthday party,” Withrow said, adding, “We’re still processing the scene to find out directions of fire and all these other things that come into play in cases like this.”
Shooters wore face coverings: Physical descriptions of the shooters are murky. “The subjects described to us so far, they were wearing all dark clothing and had some kind of face covering,” Withrow said.
“So we don’t have a lot we can give the public at this time” to identify a suspect, he said. But he added, “That does not mean that we will not be able to identify them.”
Video of shooting scene: Chaotic aftermath shows upturned furniture, lost shoes, children’s toys
Investigation could take months
Withrow urged patience as investigators work the case.
“This investigation is going to be a long investigation,” he said. “It’s going to take probably months … to go through all our evidence, so I can give the district attorney a case that doesn’t have any gaps.”
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas also addressed the Board of Supervisors, imploring more tips to be provided. He said the shooting “simultaneously shattered our sense of community and brought our community together closer than ever before.”
For those with information involving the attack, officials suggest calling the department’s non-emergency line at (209) 468-4400 or Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600. The FBI is accepting information via an online portal. The ATF directs callers to its toll-free tip line at 1-888-283-8477 (ATF TIPS).
Rewards for information leading to a conviction have now reached $130,000.
A review of body cameras
Withrow said he’s watched the body cam video from some of the first officers on the scene and offered new details of the initial law enforcement response.
“I’ve watched some of the body camera footage of our first officers arrived on scene, and it was horrendous,” he said.
The sheriff offered these details of the public safety response:
- Officers initially received the wrong location for the shooting “because there was so much chaos,” he said. Officers arrived within six to seven minutes. Withrow said deputies had been “down the street from Lincoln Center.”
- The first calls went to Stockton police, he said, and then to the Sheriff’s Office. Withrow said Stockton police also arrived immediately.
- Withrow said officers eventually found the location “and ran toward that.” He described “heroic” efforts by his officers and emergency technicians at the scene.
- Withrow said that “almost every jurisdiction inside our county either arrived on scene or helped at local hospitals.”
Withrow did not say where officers went in their initial response.
A sheriff’s spokesperson told Stocktonia that the first deputies to respond to the call had been at Lincoln Center, a shopping area about two miles south of the shooting site. Heather Brent told Stocktonia on Tuesday that deputies were initially sent to a Jack in the Box, and later clarified that they were sent to a Dairy Queen. There is a Dairy Queen around the corner from the shooting location, on Thornton Road.
Stockton police representatives did not immediately respond to inquiries about what location officers initially approached when responding to reports of the shooting.
No information on getaway vehicle or gang connections
At a news conference later Tuesday morning, Withrow said the count of five firearms was based on evidence from the casings found at the scene. He would not confirm whether all five of those guns were in authorities’ possession.
“We did find firearms on top of the roof,” he said, “but we do not know if ATF has tied back to these shell casings as being some of the firearms that were discharged there yet.”
Withrow said he could not confirm details about the trajectories of the shots, and did not address questions about where various shooters may have been standing during the gunfire. Nearby residents said their homes were struck by bullets during the shooting.
The sheriff said the shooters “obviously left the scene somehow,” but he would not say whether there was a getaway vehicle or other means of escape.
While Withrow acknowledged that recent arrests show that authorities identified gang members present at the party, he would not elaborate on a potential motive in the attack.
“I’ve told you all along that we cannot determine whether this is gang-related or not,” he said. “Obviously, we know that there were known gang members … but we do not know whether that was the reason or the motive of this shooting, so we’re going to take our time.”
Josh Susong contributed to this report.
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