Sacramento County deputies are examining a gun violence incident that erupted Saturday night April 18 at Howe Park in Sacramento while deputies were shutting down a large unauthorized gathering of hundreds of attendees.
Prior to the Shooting
Officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office were first dispatched to the park on Howe Avenue just after 6:30 Saturday evening after getting calls of persons possibly in possession of concealed weapons. After that, a second call came in regarding a potential altercation unfolding inside the park.
Aerial units searched from above but came back with no confirmation of a fight. Regardless, deputies found that an enormous crowd had assembled at the park without permission.
The Dispersal and Shooting
Responding units began the process of clearing the park by encircling the gathering and broadcasting over loudspeakers commanding the crowd to vacate the area. About 15 minutes were allowed for individuals to vacate.
While deputies worked to disperse the gathering that 20 to 25 gunshots rang out. The barrage of gunfire sparked chaos as hundreds ran. Responding personnel at once began searching for victims.
Four Victims Hospitalized
Ultimately, four individuals were found to have been shot. The shooting victims — get more info consisting of one woman and three men ranging in age through their in their twenties — were brought to hospitals in the Sacramento area. Hospital staff reported that two had critical injury classifications, one of the four had moderate gunshot wounds, and one victim's wounds were minor. According to authorities, all four victims survived and were stable.
Metro Fire Sacramento arrived on scene and aided in treating the injured at the park.
Physical Evidence
Most of the gunfire was believed to have happened near the Cottage Way corridor near the local Home Depot situated at the 2200 block of Howe Avenue. Detectives recovered more spent casings throughout the Cottage Way area. Projectile impacts were also found in the wrought iron fence adjacent to the nearby Home Depot. These findings pointed to that one of the gunmen had been sending rounds south from Cottage Way in the direction of the Home Depot store. The Home Depot was locked down during the incident. Forensic investigators and law enforcement detectives stayed at the location for hours.
Suspects Detained
Reports confirmed through scanner monitoring revealed that a Kia connected to the shooting was pulled over in the Solano County area. Four individuals were detained. Sheriff's units were traveling to Solano County to transport the detainees for questioning. Video evidence confirmed that the shooting involved two separate gunmen.