Sacramento authorities are probing a shooting incident that erupted on the evening of April 18 at Howe Community Park at the moment law enforcement were dispersing an unauthorized event of an estimated several hundred individuals.
Prior to the Shooting
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies initially responded to the Arden-Arcade park around 6:30 Saturday evening after being notified of subjects reportedly carrying hidden weapons. Not long after, a second call came in describing an alleged brawl happening within the park grounds.
An overhead unit was sent to survey the area but found nothing to substantiate the fight report. Even so, it became clear that an enormous crowd had come together at the location without permission.
The Moment Gunfire Erupted
Deputies set about removing people from the park by positioning themselves around the crowd and using their vehicle PA systems ordering the assembled crowd to clear out. Approximately 15 minutes were given for the crowd to leave.
It was during this dispersal that between 20 and 25 rounds rang out. The shots caused mass panic. Officers at once began locating gunshot victims.
Four Victims Hospitalized
Altogether, four individuals were found to have been shot. The four individuals — comprising three men and one woman all reportedly in their 20s — were airlifted or driven to area medical facilities. Emergency physicians indicated that two victims sustained immediate injuries, one of the four had moderate gunshot wounds, and one sustained minor gunshot wounds. As of last report, each of the four victims was stable.
Sacramento fire crews were called to the scene and helped triage those with gunshot wounds on location.
Evidence at the Scene
The center of the incident was determined to have occurred along the Cottage Way corridor alongside the local Home Depot on the 2200 block of Howe Ave. Detectives found further ballistic evidence in the form of shell casings on the Cottage Way roadway. Projectile impacts were discovered in the iron fence alongside the Home Depot store. These findings confirmed that at least one of the shooters had been firing southward from along Cottage Way in the direction of the Home Depot building and parking lot. The store itself was temporarily locked down during the incident. Crime scene personnel worked tirelessly through the early morning hours.
Suspects Detained
Information relayed over police scanner read more frequencies confirmed that a suspect Kia had been detained in the Solano County area. Four occupants were in the vehicle at the time of the stop. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Solano County to pick up those detained for further questioning. Footage analyzed by investigators showed that there were two gunmen.