Sacramento County Sheriff's Office investigators are examining a gunfire incident that unfolded Saturday night April 18 at Howe Community Park in the Arden-Arcade area at the moment deputies were clearing an unlawful assembly of multiple hundreds of people.
Before the Gunfire
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies first arrived at Howe Park around half past six in the evening after receiving reports of people potentially armed with concealed firearms. After that, a follow-up call was made about a potential altercation taking place within the park grounds.
An overhead unit conducted an aerial sweep but reported no active disturbance. Even so, it was apparent that hundreds of people had come together at the location without permission.
The Shooting Itself
Responding units set about removing people from the park by forming a perimeter and making announcements directing attendees to disperse at once. Nearly 15 minutes were provided for the gathering to break up.
As the crowd was being cleared that 20 to 25 gunshots were fired. The rapid succession of shots sent hundreds fleeing. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies swiftly started get more info searching for victims.
The Shooting Victims
In total, four gunshot victims were discovered with shooting injuries. All four — comprising three men and one woman each reported to be in their 20s at the time of the incident — were airlifted or driven to Sacramento area hospitals. Medical teams stated that two victims sustained immediate injuries, one of the four had moderate gunshot wounds, and one person's injuries were considered minor. As of last report, all four were in stable condition.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District also responded and assisted with medical triage shooting victims on location.
What Investigators Found
Most of the gunfire seemed to have taken place on Cottage Way adjacent to the Home Depot at the 2200 block of Howe Ave. Detectives discovered more spent casings throughout the Cottage Way area. Ballistic damage were noted in the wrought iron fence alongside the Home Depot. These findings pointed to that at least one shooter had been shooting in a southerly direction from along Cottage Way in the direction of the Home Depot store. The Home Depot was temporarily locked down as a precaution. Crime scene personnel remained on scene throughout the night.
Suspect Information
Information relayed through scanner monitoring showed that a Kia had been stopped in Solano County. Four suspects were stopped and detained. Sacramento law enforcement were en route to collect those detained to bring the suspects back for investigation. Surveillance footage made clear that two individuals had fired weapons.