At Least 6 Dead, 10 Injured In California Shooting

A shooting that took place in a busy nightlife district in the California state capital of Sacramento early Sunday led to the death of at least six people and 10 more wounded.

According to Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester, he revealed that Police were still looking for the shooter and no one was in custody yet.

“We are asking for the public’s help in helping us to identify the suspects in this and provide any information they can to help us solve this,” Lester said.

The shooting occurred at about 2 am, Lester, said, near the Golden 1 Center, an arena where the Sacramento Kings basketball team plays and concerts take place.

“It was just horrific,” said community activist Barry Accius, who arrived minutes after the shooting.

“Just as soon as I walked up you saw a chaotic scene, police all over the place, victims with blood all over their bodies, folks screaming, folks crying, people going, ‘Where is my brother?’ Mothers crying and trying to identify who their child was,” he told local broadcaster KXTV.

Police said several blocks were closed while they investigate, but released no details on the ages or identities of the victims.

The Sacramento Bee newspaper reported there were broken glass and police investigation markers strewn over two blocks.

A video posted online showed people scuffling in the street, then starting to run as gunfire can be heard. AFP could not verify the footage.

“The numbers of dead and wounded are difficult to comprehend. We await more information about exactly what transpired in this tragic incident,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said on Twitter.

“Rising gun violence is the scourge of our city, state, and nation, and I support all actions to reduce it.

It is the latest mass casualty shooting in the United States, where firearms are linked to about 40,000 deaths a year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

Lax gun laws and the right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation, despite greater controls being favored by the majority of Americans.

Three-quarters of all homicides in the US are committed with guns, and the number of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms sold continues to rise.

More than 23 million guns were sold in 2020 – a record – and another 20 million in 2021, according to data compiled by the website Small Arms Analytics.

That number does not include “ghost” guns, which are sold disassembled, lack serial numbers, and are highly prized in criminal circles.

In June 2021, 30 percent of American adults said they owned at least one gun, according to a Pew survey.