It has been one month since masked shooters killed four, including three school-age children and a young adult, and injured 13 others at a birthday party in north Stockton. While the city remains staggered from the mass casualty, lead investigative authorities have yet to release more information or make any arrests.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, the agency leading the investigation, says there’s nothing new to share at this time.

The last public release of information relating to the attack was two weeks back, when Sheriff Patrick Withrow briefed the county’s Board of Supervisors. He described the “horrendous” body camera footage from officers who first arrived at the scene of a two-year-old girl’s birthday party in North Stockton where more than 50 shots were fired from “at least five firearms.” 

“If and when we share more information, that would be when we have something concrete,” said Heather Brent in a Monday morning call with Stocktonia. “We’re not giving a deadline.”

The investigation remains ongoing and unsolved going into the new year. No arrests have been made, and suspect information provided to the public has been vague. 

Information is shared with the public as it comes, Brent said.

“His last update was because we had something that we could share,” Brent said. “It’s really dependent on the investigation.” 

Here’s what we know

Right as family and friends were about to cut the cake and sing to the two-year-old birthday girl shortly before 6 p.m. on Nov. 29, shots erupted inside an event center in the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue near Thornton Road.

More than 100 people had attended the gathering at Monkey Space, a banquet hall that authorities now say had no permits to operate. Property owner Vinod Kumar of American Golden Property said hosting large gatherings violated the lease agreement. 

The chaotic scene and a score of calls slowed down law enforcement response, authorities say. Officers and deputies had initially received the wrong location, with some responding to the Dairy Queen next door, law enforcement officials have said.

Deputies’ response time to the scene of the shooting was within six to seven minutes, Withrow has said. Stockton PD’s response time was four minutes to the Thornton Plaza, about a minute drive from the event center where the party was held, according to a spokesperson. 

The shooting, carried out by multiple gunmen, had “started indoors” before making its way outside the banquet hall, according to the sheriff’s office. Four people, including three children, were killed and 13 others injured.

More than 50 casings from at least five weapons were found at the scene, authorities say.

In the days following the shooting, friends and family members gradually identified those killed as 8-year-old cousins Maya Lupian and Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero; Modesto youth basketball star Amari Peterson, 14; and Susano Archuleta, 21, who had reportedly rushed to protect those near him during the shooting. 

Sheriff officials have repeatedly described the attack as “targeted.” Later, Withrow said the suspects wore masks and dark clothing — the only physical description that’s been provided to the public.

“Right now, we’re all focused 110% on working towards solving this violent crime that came into our community,” Withrow said in a four-minute monthly address posted to social media Dec. 18, about a week after the county board update. “We’re going to continue to work on that every single day until we bring people to justice.” 

Withrow provided no new information on the shooting or the progression of the investigation in the address.

Some have speculated that the shooting was related to gang violence, including public officials. District Attorney Ron Freitas, at the night of the shooting, described the shooting to reporters as “gun and gang violence.” Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi made a similar claim, that she later walked back, telling Stocktonia that she was not saying “yes or no” on whether the violence was gang-related.

Prosecutors also laid some of the blame for what happened on one of the party’s hosts, Luciano Guerrero, for allegedly knowing who would be in attendance, including known gang members. Guerrero is the birthday girl’s father.

The sheriff’s office has repeatedly stated they could not confirm if gangs were involved.

(To keep up with latest news on the Nov. 29 shooting, check back here with Stocktonia.)

Governor rolls out CHP ‘crime suppression’ teams in Stockton 

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced last week that Stockton will receive reinforcements. Additional CHP officers will deploy in the Stockton area as part of broader efforts to address crime and violence, the governor said.

Local authorities and law enforcement agencies say they welcome the additional support.

The CHP deployment, made up of California Highway Patrol officers to form a “crime suppression” team, will work with local officers to “(saturate) high-crime areas, target repeat offenders, and seize illicit weapons and narcotics,” according to a news release of the deployment. 

The team debuted in 2024 in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Bernardino, moving to cities like San Diego and Los Angeles this year. The still fresh CHP expansion to the coastal cities also came together as President Donald Trump escalated military action across the country. 

In Stockton, according to the release, CHP officers had confiscated an ounce of cocaine and 4 grams of methamphetamine from a traffic stop in mid-November. 

Further details on CHP’s expansion in Stockton, including the arrival date of officers, their numbers and which areas will be targeted, have not yet been shared by the state. 

“Stockton is getting stronger,” Mayor Christina Fugazi said in a social media post sharing the deployment of CHP officers to Stockton. “Public safety is essential to Stockton’s future.” 

Fugazi has previously called for “the full power of the federal government,” despite the sheriff’s office already working with federal agencies, including the Department of Justice. 

The White House has yet to respond to Stocktonia’s inquiry or comment publicly about Fugazi’s request.

Another fatal shooting during the holidays 

Stockton has had at least 10 shootings since the violent attack over Thanksgiving weekend, according to city and county incident reports, including a deadly incident right before the end of the year.  

On Sunday, multiple shots sounded just after 7:30 p.m. outside the People’s Market, a liquor and grocery store in the 2000 block of Country Club Boulevard. 

Tracy teen Noah Juan Auburn, 17, was killed, according to law enforcement. Three others were wounded and taken to local hospitals. 

Like the mass shooting last month, Sunday’s occurred within one of Stockton’s 17 unincorporated areas managed by the county.