Three men and three women were killed, Lester said, and the injured were rushed to local hospitals. The forensic service is working to locate and inform the victims’ families, he said. Investigators questioned several witnesses and found hundreds of evidence from the scene, including a stolen weapon, Lester said. Police responded quickly to the scene near 10th Street and K Street after hearing gunshots around 2 a.m. and seeing people running, the police chief said. When they arrived, police discovered a large crowd and many victims of the shootings. “Officers began providing medical assistance, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, to the victims they found and at the same time worked to stabilize the scene and find out what they could about the crime,” Lester told a news conference Sunday. Police worked with members of the California Highway Patrol and the Sacramento Fire Department at the scene, he said. “All our services tried to save lives.” The social media video appears to show a quarrel before the shooting, police said in a statement. “We are currently working to determine what, if any, these incidents have to do with the shooting,” the statement said. The stage is within walking distance of many attractions: the California State Capitol, Sacramento City Hall, and the Golden 1 Center, which hosts concerts and sporting events. Large crowds gathered in the area when gunfire erupted, but it was unclear if the crowd was associated with a specific venue or event, Lester said. Members of the public have sent information and videos about the shooting, the leader said, and part of the incident was recorded by a nearby police camera. “We are shocked and devastated by this tragedy, but we are also determined as a service to find those responsible and ensure justice for the victims and their families,” Lester said.
The city was left with a “broken heart”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called the shooting “an absurd and unacceptable tragedy” that left the California capital with a “broken heart.” “Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” he said. “It’s time to have a sensible debate about having weapons in America. We have a disease – it’s a disease in our country, it’s a disease in our culture.” He said Sacramento would continue to invest in early intervention and violence prevention programs for young people. “In our city we will take stock and do what we can in terms of investment, in terms of public security, in terms of weapons, to protect the public.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the shooting had left many families mourning. “The scourge of armed violence continues to be a crisis in our country and we must decide to put an end to this massacre,” he said in a statement. President Joe Biden noted that Sacramento was “another community devastated by armed violence” and called on Congress to take action on gun control. “In a single operation in Sacramento, six people were killed and at least a dozen were injured. Families changed forever. Survivors left to heal wounds, visible and invisible,” she said in a statement. CNN’s Chuck Johnston, Hannah Sarrison and Nicky Carvajal contributed to this report.
