We have been following the reports on the shootings in downtown Sacramento last weekend, which left six people dead and injured a dozen more.
Initial reports seemed to suggest a drive-by style shooting spree. However, newly discovered videos and additional details have been uncovered that reveal the fight started in the crowd among two groups of people.
But it’s clear now that the shooting was the result of a conflict among groups of people that turned into a gun battle on a crowded street filled with patrons leaving as bars closed.Initially, police said the crime involved a man firing from a car as it drove up 10th Street just as patrons were leaving downtown nightclubs around 2 a.m.But according to Officer Chad Lewis, detectives are “able to confidently say” — based on a preliminary examination of the evidence — that at least five people pulled out weapons and began firing them that night, with gunfire hitting innocent victims.Police are expected to share more information about the crime in the coming days, as they continue to sift through evidence from a complex investigation. It is one that includes interviews with dozens of witnesses, more than 200 videos and social media posts, ballistics from the more than 100 shell casings that littered the sidewalk, and video from police cameras.
I noted in a follow-up report that, Daviyonne Dawson, 31, was arrested after being spotted carrying a gun in the aftermath of the shooting. He has now been released after posting at least some of a $500,000 bond.
Daviyonne Dawson, 31, was released from the Sacramento County Jail on Wednesday, two days after being arrested in connection with the shooting.He was booked on one count of unlawful possession of a weapon but on Wednesday, he was released.It’s unclear if he paid all of the $500,000 bond or just a portion of it.The other two men arrested are brothers Smiley and Dandrae Martin, aged 27 and 26 respectively.They remain in custody on gun possession charges.Police do not believe that Dawson fired his weapon during the brawl but that he was in the same place at the same time and was armed.
As the investigation continues, Sacramento police assert gang violence as at the heart of the incident.
In a statement, police said it was “increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy.” Police have not named the gangs they believe were involved or given a motive for the hail of gunfire.
Meanwhile, Democratic state legislatures are using Sacramento’s tragedy as an excuse to add even more rules to California’s already restrictive gun requirements.
Even before Sunday’s shooting, Democratic legislators planned to do more. One new bill, introduced by state Senator Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, would give citizens the “private right of action” to sue gun manufacturers and suppliers. The bill, SB 1327, is modeled after an anti-abortion law enacted in Texas.State Sen. David Min, D-Irvine, introduced Senate Bill 915, which would prohibit the sale of firearms or ammunition on state property, effectively ending gun shows on 73 state-owned fairgrounds. Previous efforts on a blanket-ban on gun shows at fairgrounds have failed.“These are all practical actions we can take today to stop gun violence,” Hertzberg said Sunday.
I sense that Sacramento’s incident won’t be the last mass casualty incident related to gangs that we see in this state. Over/under as to when the next one is?
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