Sacramento County deputies are probing a violent incident that took place Saturday evening at Howe Park while law enforcement were dispersing an unlawful assembly of multiple hundreds of people.
Background
Officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office first arrived at the park just after half past six in the evening after getting calls of individuals who may have had concealed firearms. Not long after, a second caller reported mentioning a possible physical fight happening inside the park.
Air support was sent to survey the area but reported no active disturbance. Despite this, it was apparent that a crowd of several hundred had packed into the park without permission.
The Shooting Itself
Officers worked to disperse the crowd by positioning themselves around the crowd and announcing over their public address systems directing the crowd to leave immediately. Approximately 15 minutes were spent for people to comply.
Just as the crowd began to move that 20 to 25 rounds of ammunition rang out. The barrage of gunfire sparked chaos as hundreds ran. Deputies swiftly started searching for victims.
Those Who Were website Hit
By the time the scene was secured, four gunshot victims were found to have been shot. Those injured — made up of one woman and three men all believed to be in their 20s — were brought to hospitals in the Sacramento area. Medical teams reported that two had critical injury classifications, one victim's injuries were classified as moderate, and one sustained minor gunshot wounds. As of last report, all four victims survived and were stable.
Metro Fire Sacramento assisted at the location and helped triage those who had been shot at the park.
Crime Scene Evidence
The bulk of the shooting was determined to have been concentrated adjacent to Cottage Way close to the Home Depot located at the 2200 Howe Avenue block. Law enforcement investigators recovered more spent casings throughout the Cottage Way area. Projectile impacts were noted in the iron fence adjacent to the nearby Home Depot. These discoveries suggested that one of the gunmen had been discharging rounds toward the south from along Cottage Way aimed at the Home Depot store. The nearby Home Depot was placed on lockdown for a period of time. CSI investigators and detectives worked tirelessly throughout the night.
Suspect Vehicle Located
Details gathered through scanner monitoring revealed that a suspect Kia was pulled over in the Solano County area. Four detainees were detained. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Solano County to pick up those detained for further questioning. Video that was reviewed made clear that two individuals had fired weapons.