Sacramento County deputies are working a shooting incident that unfolded Saturday night April 18 at Howe Community Park in the Arden-Arcade area at the moment authorities were dissolving a large unsanctioned party of multiple hundreds of people.
Before the Gunfire
Law enforcement were first dispatched to the Arden-Arcade park at approximately half past six in the evening after obtaining information of people potentially armed with concealed firearms. Shortly after, another report was received regarding a possible physical fight happening within the park grounds.
A sheriff's airship flew over the park but came back with no confirmation of a fight. Nevertheless, authorities discovered that a massive group had congregated at Howe Park without permission.
When the Shots Rang Out
Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies moved to clear the area by surrounding the park and issuing commands over loudspeakers instructing the here crowd to leave immediately. Approximately 15 minutes were spent for people to comply.
As the crowd was being cleared that 20 to 25 rounds of ammunition were discharged. Gunfire sent the crowd running in all directions. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies at once began locating gunshot victims.
Four Gunshot Victims
Altogether, four gunshot victims were confirmed as gunshot victims. The victims — a group of one female and three male victims each reported to be in their mid to late twenties — were rushed to local Sacramento hospitals. Hospital staff noted 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. As of last report, all four were in stable condition.
Sacramento fire crews also responded and helped triage the injured at the scene.
The Investigation
The bulk of the shooting was determined to have happened on Cottage Way close to the local Home Depot at the 2200 block of Howe Ave. Law enforcement investigators found additional spent rounds on the Cottage Way roadway. Projectile impacts were observed in the iron perimeter fence adjacent to the Home Depot store. This evidence suggested that at least one of the shooters had been firing southward from Cottage Way aimed at the Home Depot building and parking lot. That Home Depot location was put under lockdown while law enforcement worked the area. CSI units alongside detectives continued working for hours.
Suspect Information
Details gathered over scanner radio traffic confirmed that a suspect Kia was pulled over in nearby Solano County. Four people were taken into custody. Sheriff's units were en route to collect those detained to transport the detainees for questioning. Video evidence showed that two individuals had fired weapons.