Officials in Sacramento County are probing a violent incident that broke out on the evening of April 18 at Howe Park as Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were breaking up an unauthorized event of multiple hundreds of people.
Prior to the Shooting
Law enforcement first arrived at Howe Community Park just after half past six in the evening after being notified of individuals who may have had concealed firearms. Shortly after, additional information came in describing a possible fight occurring at Howe website Park.
An overhead unit scanned the area from the air but was unable to locate the reported altercation. Regardless, deputies found that an enormous crowd had come together at the location without authorization.
When the Shots Rang Out
Responding units started clearing the unauthorized gathering by forming a perimeter and issuing commands over loudspeakers commanding attendees to leave immediately. Around 15 minutes were provided for attendees to disperse.
Just as the crowd began to move that upwards of 20 gunshots cut through the air. The sudden gunfire sent hundreds fleeing. Law enforcement quickly moved to finding those who had been shot.
The Shooting Victims
When the dust settled, four people were located with gunshot injuries. All four — a group of one female and three male victims each apparently in their 20s at the time of the incident — were rushed to nearby hospitals. Medical personnel stated that two had critical injury classifications, one of the four had moderate gunshot wounds, and one had injuries classified as minor. Thankfully, each of the four victims was stable.
Sacramento fire crews were called to the scene and helped care for the injured on location.
Physical Evidence
The bulk of the shooting was determined to have taken place adjacent to the Cottage Way corridor adjacent to the local Home Depot at the 2200 block of Howe Ave. Detectives recovered extra shell casings on Cottage Way. Bullet damage were identified in the metal fencing bordering the Home Depot store. These findings pointed to that at least one of the shooters had been shooting in a southerly direction from Cottage Way toward the Home Depot. The nearby Home Depot was secured under a brief lockdown while the scene was active. CSI units alongside detectives continued working through the early morning hours.
Arrests Made
Information obtained through law enforcement radio communications confirmed that a Kia connected to the shooting had been stopped in nearby Solano County. Four suspects were in the vehicle at the time of the stop. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were en route to collect those detained to collect the individuals for questioning. Video evidence made clear that there were two gunmen.