Officials in Sacramento County are looking into a shooting that took place Saturday night April 18 at Howe Community Park at the time law enforcement were shutting down an unauthorized event of multiple hundreds of people.
What Led to the Shooting
Sacramento County law enforcement were first called to the park shortly before 6:30 PM after getting calls of persons possibly in possession of concealed weapons. Following that, a follow-up call was made mentioning a potential altercation occurring at the location.
Aerial units searched from above but was unable to locate the reported altercation. Regardless, it became clear that an enormous crowd had gathered without authorization without official sanction.
The Dispersal and Shooting
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies began the process of clearing the park by positioning themselves around the crowd and making announcements ordering the crowd to vacate the area. Approximately 15 minutes were given for the gathering to break up.
As the crowd was being cleared that upwards of 20 gunshots were fired. Gunfire caused mass panic. Law enforcement quickly moved to looking for those injured.
The Shooting Victims
In total, four people were discovered with shooting injuries. The shooting victims — consisting of one woman and three men all believed to be in their 20s at the time of the incident — were rushed to Sacramento area hospitals. Medical teams noted that two had critical injury classifications, one person had injuries of a moderate nature, and one had injuries classified as minor. In a positive development, all four were expected to survive.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District were called to the scene and provided medical assistance shooting victims prior to hospital transport.
Evidence at the Scene
The bulk of the unauthorized gathering shooting Sacramento shooting appears to have taken place adjacent to the Cottage Way corridor alongside the Home Depot store at the 2200 block of Howe Avenue. Investigators found additional spent rounds along Cottage Way. Bullet holes were noted in the iron fence alongside the Home Depot store. These discoveries showed that a second shooter had been firing southward from along Cottage Way in the direction of the Home Depot. The nearby Home Depot was locked down during the incident. CSI units alongside detectives stayed at the location well into the night.
Arrests Made
Details gathered over scanner radio traffic established that a vehicle identified as a Kia had been detained in Solano County California. Four individuals were in the vehicle at the time of the stop. Deputies were dispatched to Solano County to return them to Sacramento for investigation. Video that was reviewed established that two shooters had been involved.