SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Sacramento police said Wednesday that the mass murder that resulted in six dead and 12 injured outside bars near the California Capitol over the weekend was a shooting involving at least five shooters. Meto.
Police said they have identified at least five armed men, but there may be more. Only two suspects – both brothers with gunshot wounds – have been arrested in connection with the shooting and have so far been charged with firearms.
“We’re still sorting out who the shooters were,” the sergeant said. Said Zack Eaton.
Prior to the announcement on Wednesday, police remained silent about the cause of the shooting, which erupted on Sunday morning as they passed through bars. A rapid explosion of more than 100 gunshots was heard in the streets as frightened patrons ran to save lives, while others were hit by bullets.
Police said at least two gangs were involved. They declined to provide further details on the named gangs or ownership of any of the suspects.
Experts said that if the gangs were to blame, it would be an unusually bloody riot.
After 20 years of gang research in Los Angeles, Alex Alonso said he doesn’t remember shooting a gang with such a high number of bodies.
“It’s very rare to have a group shoot like this,” Alonso said. “It’s very rare to happen in a public place with so many victims.”
Video sent @kcranews It shows the chaos in Sacramento last night before a mass shooting. At least 76 shots were fired as people fled in fear.
Here’s what we know: 6 people were killed, 3 men and 3 women. 12 people were taken to the hospital. Several shooters are involved. pic.twitter.com/tYFn8LDZ2T
– Frances Wang (@FrancesWangTV) April 3, 2022
Gregory Chris Brown, a professor of criminal law at California State University in Fullerton, said gangs often target rivals with fewer casualties during shootings, although sometimes targeted they are also innocent guests.
The shooting scene in Sacramento – in a noisy area of irrigation holes near a recreation area – was unintentional, which only exacerbated the misunderstanding.
“If members of a rival gang meet, it doesn’t matter if they’re in the United States Capitol,” Brown said. “If you see a rival gang member and you plan to attack him, it doesn’t matter where he is.”
He said the large number of deaths resulted from high -capacity weapons in crowded areas.
“Barry Achius, the founder of Voice of Youth, which runs gun prevention and intervention programs and offers his services to help families who have lost a loved one in a shooting, criticized police for membership of a gang., which he believes led some to “think it over”.
He said people would see pictures of black men and women being murdered, suggesting they were in a gang and wondering why there were gang members in the city center.
“It’s a narrative that we don’t need at this particular time,” Atzius said. “The idea is we blame people for a demographic group and blame them for the violence that followed.”
Bill Sanders, a criminologist in California, said he wanted to see more evidence that the shooting was gang -related, a term police often use to gain support. He said gang shootings are more common and mostly take place in gang areas.
“If you look at the map of gang killings in a city or any other city over time, you can see that both places are glowing, which means it’s one place. If these men are white, it’s not he can be considered related to the gang, even for a minute. “
Authorities assigned witnesses who showed up to 200 videos, photos and other tips for the investigation.
Police are trying to determine if the stolen weapons found at the crime scene were used. It was replaced by a weapon capable of firing automatically.
They are also investigating whether they used the weapon of one of the brothers, 27-year-old Smiley Martin, pictured in the video, a law enforcement spokeswoman told The Associated Press. The officer was informed of the investigation but was not allowed to discuss the details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Martin and his brother were among those injured in the shooting that broke out Sunday at 2am, when bars closed and patrons filled the streets.
Sacramento District Court found three women murdered as Jontaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; And Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men killed were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Luces, 32; And Devazia Turner, 29.
Ten people were injured besides the Martin brothers. At least two remain in hospital with gunshot wounds.
Smiley Martin was threatened by a prohibited man for possession of a gun and possession of a machine gun. He remained in the hospital and it was unclear if he had a lawyer who could speak for him.
Her sister Dandra Martin, 26, was arrested as a “related suspect” and briefly appeared in Sacramento Supreme Court on Tuesday accused of being convicted of a gunshot wound.
He has not yet filed a lawsuit, and his lawyer said he will wait for prosecutors to file a more serious case before deciding whether to ask for his release.
Both men were sentenced. Smiley Martin was released from prison in February after serving a 10 -year sentence for beating his girlfriend. He was denied parole last year after prosecutors said he was “clearly less interested in human life,” documents show.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked why the brothers were on the street.
“These questions need to be answered and will be answered in the next few days,” Steinberg said.
A 31-year-old man carrying a gun was arrested Tuesday on gun charges after the shooting. Police said they do not believe they used his firearm in the hunt.
Meli reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Stephanie Dazio, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Don Thompson in Sacramento, Michael Balsamo in Washington, Jacques Bilo in Phoenix and researcher Ronda Schaffner in New York.
Source: Huffpost
