Police in California are searching for at least one suspect in connection with a mass shooting in Sacramento city centre in which six people died and 10 people were injured.
Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference that police were patrolling the area at about 2am as bars and nightclubs were closing when they heard gunfire.
When they arrived at the scene, they found a large crowd gathered on the street and six people dead. A further 10 people either took themselves to hospitals or were transported there.
Kelsey Schar, 18, was staying on the fourth floor of a nearby hotel when she said she heard gunshots. She walked to the window and “saw a guy running and just shooting”, she told The Associated Press.
She saw flashes from the gun in the dark.
Madalyn Woodard, 17, who was also staying at the same hotel, said she saw a crowd of people sprinting down the street. She saw one girl who appeared to have been shot in the arm and lying on the ground. Security guards from the nightclub rushed to help her.
“These security guards from the nightclub I think it was where she was right by, they brought, like napkins. I could see the bloody napkins they were using,” Ms Woodard said.
ADVISORY: 9th St to 13th St is closed between L St & J St as officers investigate a shooting with multiple victims. Conditions unknown at this time. Please avoid the area as a large police presence will remain and the scene remains active. Please follow this thread for updates. pic.twitter.com/lGhUJCnLWe
— Sacramento Police (@SacPolice) April 3, 2022
Authorities do not know whether one or more suspects were involved and are asking for the public’s help in identifying who is responsible.
Ms Lester said it was “a very complex and complicated scene”.
She issued a plea to the public, asking for witnesses or anyone with recordings of the incident to contact police.
Shortly after the shooting, video was posted on Twitter that showed people running through the street amid the sound of rapid gunfire. Video also showed multiple ambulances at the scene.
The shooting — which occurred two blocks from the state capitol — was decried by top political officials.
Yet another mass casualty shooting - leaving families with lost loved ones, people injured, and a community in grief.
We are working closely with law enforcement to monitor the situation.
We cannot continue to let gun violence be the new normal. https://t.co/W2GIPnQJwM— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 3, 2022
Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that his administration was working closely with law enforcement.
“What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief.
“The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and we must resolve to bring an end to this carnage.”
Meanwhile, via Twitter, Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg said: “Words can’t express my shock & sadness this morning. The numbers of dead and wounded are difficult to comprehend.
“Rising gun violence is the scourge of our city, state and nation, and I support all actions to reduce it.”
Residents were asked to avoid the area, which is packed with restaurants and bars leading to the Golden One Centre, where the Sacramento Kings play basketball.
Berry Accius, a community activist, said he had arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting.
“The first thing I saw was like victims. I saw a young girl with a whole bunch of blood in her body, a girl taking off glass from her, a young girl screaming saying, ‘They killed my sister’. A mother running up, ‘Where’s my son, has my son been shot?’” he said.
Kay Harris, 32, said she was asleep when one of her family members called to say they thought her brother had been killed. She said she thought he was at London, a nightclub at 1009 10th Street.
Ms Harris said she had been to the club a few times and described it as a place for “the younger crowd”.
Police have closed the streets around the club.
Meanwhile, one person was killed and 11 others were injured during a shooting at an outdoor concert in Dallas, police said.
A shooting at a trail ride concert left multiple people injured and one deceased.https://t.co/qGWFPKJLEK
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) April 3, 2022
Officers were called to a field in the southeast of the city where an event was being held on Saturday evening, the force said in a statement.
Police said a preliminary investigation found that during the concert, one person fired a gun into the air, then another unknown individual fired a gun in the crowd’s direction.
Officers found 26-year-old Kealon Dejuane Gilmore lying on the ground near the concert stage with a gunshot wound to the head. He died at the scene.
Police say that 11 other individuals were shot during the concert. All the people who were hurt were taken to hospitals either by ambulance or by private vehicles.
One person was in a critical condition and the others were in a stable condition. Three of the people hurt were juveniles, police said.
No arrests had been made as police continued to investigate what prompted the shooting.
