Sacramento County Sheriff's Office investigators are working a violent incident that erupted Saturday night April 18 at Howe Park in Sacramento at the moment Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were dispersing an unauthorized event of multiple hundreds of people.
Background
Deputies were first dispatched to the Arden-Arcade park around 6:30 PM on April 18 after receiving reports of people potentially armed with concealed firearms. Shortly after, another report was received concerning a potential altercation unfolding inside the park.
A sheriff's airship flew over the park but could not confirm any ongoing fight. However, it was apparent that hundreds of people had gathered without authorization in an unauthorized manner.
The Shooting Itself
Officers moved to clear the area by forming a perimeter and issuing commands over loudspeakers commanding those gathered to leave immediately. Approximately 15 minutes were allotted for the crowd to leave.
As the crowd was being cleared that 20 to 25 rounds of ammunition rang out. The barrage of gunfire sent hundreds fleeing. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies at once began searching for victims.
Four Victims Hospitalized
Ultimately, four gunshot victims were confirmed as gunshot victims. The shooting victims — consisting of one Howe Community Park shooting 2026 woman and three men all believed to be in their twenties — were rushed to Sacramento area hospitals. Hospital staff reported that two of the four had injuries classified as immediate, one person had injuries of a moderate nature, and one person's injuries were considered minor. Fortunately, all four were expected to survive.
Sacramento fire crews arrived on scene and helped triage shooting victims prior to hospital transport.
What Investigators Found
The main crime scene was confirmed to have been concentrated along the Cottage Way side of the park adjacent to the Home Depot at the 2200 block of Howe Avenue. Law enforcement investigators recovered more spent casings along Cottage Way. Projectile impacts were also found in the iron perimeter fence alongside the Home Depot store. This ballistic evidence showed that one of the gunmen had been sending rounds south from Cottage Way in the direction of the Home Depot store. The nearby Home Depot was placed on lockdown while law enforcement worked the area. CSI investigators and detectives continued working for hours.
Suspect Information
Intelligence received via scanner audio established that a vehicle identified as a Kia was intercepted in an area within Solano County. Four people were detained. Sacramento law enforcement were en route to collect those detained to bring the suspects back for investigation. Video evidence confirmed that there were two gunmen.