6 killed in California mass shooting

Police were searching for suspects Sunday in a mass shooting in downtown Sacramento, California, in which six people were killed and 12 injured, possibly after a street altercation as bars and nightclubs let out in the state capital.

Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference that police were patrolling the area two blocks from the Capitol at about 2 am when they heard gunfire and rushed to the scene. They found a large crowd gathered and six people — three men and three women —dead in the street.

Twelve shooting victims were taken to hospitals. The Sacramento Fire Department said four of the seven people transported by its emergency workers were suffering from critical injuries. Authorities said some gunshot victims drove themselves to hospitals or were driven.

At least one firearm was recovered from the scene, police said.

"We're asking for the public's help in helping us to identify the suspects in this," said Lester, who later said there were "multiple shooters" in the worst shooting in the city's history.

Authorities suspect that a man drove through the scene and opened fire into a crowd before fleeing, according to a law enforcement source, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Investigators were reviewing videos from social media that appeared to show a brawl before the shooting.

Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as rapid gunfire rang out in the city of 525,000 people 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

The death toll matches the worst mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive in Washington DC. Six people also were killed in incidents in Milwaukee and Corsicana, Texas.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the city has worked to attract people back to its downtown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that despite the shooting, the city was safe.

"We must do more as a city, as a state and as a nation. This senseless epidemic of gun violence must be addressed," he said. "How many unending tragedies does it take before we begin to cure the sickness in this country? Let us be honest, this is a sickness."

Sunday's shooting happened a little more than a month after another deadly shooting, in suburban Sacramento.

On Feb 28, a father killed his three daughters, a chaperone and himself in a church during a supervised visitation. David Mora, 39, was armed with a homemade semiautomatic rifle-style weapon, even though he was under a restraining order that prohibited him from possessing a firearm and was on an expired visitor visa, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The area where Sunday's shooting occurred is packed with restaurants and bars. Nightclubs close at 2 am, and streets are usually crowded at that hour.

Berry Accius, a community activist, said he went to the scene shortly after the shooting.

"I saw a young girl with a whole bunch of blood in her body, a girl taking off glass from her, a young girl screaming saying, 'They killed my sister.' A mother running up, 'Where's my son, has my son been shot?'" he said.

Pamela Harris and her daughter-in-law Leticia were standing at Ninth and K streets early Sunday waiting to hear about Leticia's husband, Sergio, The Sacramento Bee reported. Sergio Harris had gone to a nightclub called the London late Saturday near 10th and K and she had not heard from him since. The family said it received a phone call early Sunday and went to the scene with activist Stevante Clark.

Pamela and Leticia Harris then were taken behind the police tape at Ninth and K streets by a law enforcement officer, who began talking to them quietly. Pamela Harris suddenly cried out and they began hugging each other. Clark confirmed to The Bee that Leticia's husband had died.

A few feet away, Frank Turner said his son, DeVazia, 29, was among the dead. Turner said his son was a regular at the London.

Community activist Berry Accius described a gruesome scene in the wake of the gunfire. "I just saw victims, victims with blood all over themselves running out with glass all over themselves," he told the Bee. "Their loved ones taking their last breath. It was hectic. It was crazy.

"Gun violence is a city problem, a city issue," Accius said. "Old Sacramento, downtown Sacramento. ... People are supposed to be going out, having fun."

City Council member Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area where Sunday's shooting happened, said she's fielded phone calls reporting many violent incidents in her district in the 15 months she's been in office.

Valenzuela cried at a news conference as she told reporters that the latest phone call woke her up at 2:30 am Sunday.

Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that his administration was working with law enforcement.

"What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief," he said.

In Dallas on Sunday, one person was killed and 11 were injured during a shooting at an outdoor concert in Dallas, police said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

hengweili@chinadailyusa.com