STOCKTON — What was meant to be a joyful celebration for a young child ended in unthinkable tragedy Saturday evening when multiple gunmen opened fire at a child’s birthday party in south Stockton, leaving at least four people dead and ten others injured.
The massacre unfolded just after 6 p.m. on November 29 in the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue, a normally quiet residential street in San Joaquin County’s Central Valley region.
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Deputies with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office arrived to find chaos: party decorations still hanging, children’s gifts scattered across the yard, and multiple victims down in the front and backyard of the home. Four adults were pronounced dead at the scene. Ten additional victims, ranging from teenagers to adults, were rushed to area hospitals; at least three remain in critical condition.
Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee confirmed late Saturday that the gathering was a birthday party for a child.
“This was a child’s birthday party. Families, kids, balloons, cake; and cowards came and sprayed the place with bullets,” Lee wrote on social media. “There are simply no words for this level of evil in our community.”
While the Sheriff’s Office has not officially labeled the incident, multiple law-enforcement sources told local media the shooting bore all the hallmarks of a targeted gang-related ambush. Witnesses described at least two masked gunmen exiting a vehicle, firing dozens of rounds with what appeared to be rifles, then fleeing the scene. Spent shell casings littered the front yard and driveway.
No suspects have been publicly identified and no arrests had been announced as of Monday morning. Detectives are reviewing surveillance footage from neighboring homes and interviewing dozens of traumatized partygoers, several of whom hid inside the house or fled into the street as shots rang out.
The identities of the four deceased have not yet been released pending notification of next of kin. Authorities say at least one minor is among the ten wounded, though the child’s condition has not been disclosed.
Community leaders and anti-violence advocates plan a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening at the site of the shooting. Meanwhile, residents in the neighborhood expressed outrage and fear.
“I’ve lived here 15 years and never heard more than fireworks,” said one neighbor who declined to be named. “Now kids can’t even have a birthday party without worrying about getting shot. This has to stop.”
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with video or information about the shooting to contact its major-crimes unit or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.