The six people who were gunned down in Sacramento, Calif., over the weekend were identified Monday and one person has been arrested in connection with the shooting, police said.
Dandre Martin, 26, was booked for assault and illegal firearm possession, Sacramento cops said in a statement.
The department has yet to file any charges against Martin related to the deaths and it did not provide more details. City officials previously stated they believe there was more than one shooter in the early Sunday melee in the city’s downtown area.
The victims were identified by the Sacramento County coroner as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; and Devazia Turner, 29.
All were killed when “multiple suspects” opened fire at around 2 a.m. Sunday as locals were leaving clubs and bars.
Two cousins among slain
Harris and Turner were cousins, according to Turner’s father, Frank.
“There’s just nothing to say. I’m just here. I’m grief, that’s all — grief. You know what I’m saying? That’s all I can say,” the elder Turner told FOX40. “He was being a good father. He’s a good father. That’s it. I don’t have another son.”
Twelve others were injured in the gunfire, four of whom were in critical condition as of Sunday, city officials said. Police said Monday the “surviving victims suffering from gunshot wounds [range] from minor to critical but stable” conditions.
Police had requested the public’s help in identifying the shooters.
Investigators have discovered hundreds of pieces of evidence at the scene, including a stolen handgun. In the Monday announcement, police said that “investigators recovered over 100 expended shell casings at the scene.”
Chaotic puzzle for police
Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester called the situation “really complicated.”
A fight appeared to have spilled out from a club just before the massacre, although it was unclear if it was related to the shooting.
Videos shared on social media show crowds desperately fleeing the rapid gunfire.
Harris, a married father of two daughters, was “fun to be around, liked to party, have fun, [and was] smiling all the time,” his mother, Pamela Harris, told ABC10.
“I have a child that’s laying out there, and I want some answers. I just want some answers from somebody,” she said.
Johntaya Alexander wanted to be a social worker and was working as a cashier, father John Alexander told The New York Times.
“She was a beautiful young lady just starting to experience life,” he said.
Her sister Tezha described her as “loving and caring,” adding, “She was the life of the party.”
