Sacramento police said Wednesday that Sunday's mass shooting was gang-related, and that investigators believe at least five people fired guns during the shooting.
The shootout between two groups in a crowded downtown corridor early Sunday left six people dead and 12 wounded — including one of three men who were arrested on suspicion of illegally possessing firearms following the shooting.
None of the three men arrested so far were booked on homicide charges, but one faces charges of firing a gun during the shooting, police said.
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The Police Department declined to elaborate on the gang affiliation of the individuals suspected to have been involved in the shooting in a statement released Wednesday, but said "gangs and gang violence are inseparable from the events that drove these shootings."
"This tragedy downtown is a very public example of what families in many of our neighborhoods know too well," Police Chief Kathy Lester said in a statement.
"The suffering inflicted by gang violence does not limit itself to gang members. It spills over to claim and shatter innocent lives and harm our entire community," Lester said.
Police said the investigation was ongoing and that the number of identified shooters could grow beyond five people.
So far, three men have been arrested following the shooting on suspicion of illegal possession of a firearm: Daviyonne Dawson, 31; Smiley Martin, 27; and Dandrae Martin, 26. Dandrae Martin is also charged with suspicion of assault with a firearm in Sunday's shooting.
Smiley and Dandrae are brothers, police said. Smiley suffered "serious injuries from gunfire" on Sunday and was under police supervision at a hospital Tuesday. Police said he will be booked into jail once his medical treatment is complete.
Dawson reportedly posted $500,000 bail and was released Tuesday, according to the Sacramento Bee, which cited an unnamed source.
Police said they have collected nearly 200 videos, photos and "hundreds of items of evidence" from the public and at the scene during the investigation. Among them were more than 100 shell casings and a stolen handgun modified to make it capable of firing as an automatic weapon. Police said they were investigating the stolen gun's "exact role in the shooting."
While law enforcement officials continue looking for answers in the complex investigation, families and community members were left mourning their loved ones who died in one of the deadliest mass shootings so far this year in the United States.
The horrific incident claimed the lives of six people, including two young women, three fathers, and a woman who had struggled with homelessness and was well-known among the downtown Sacramento community.
Their names are Johntaya Alexander, 21; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Devazia Turner, 29; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Sergio Harris, 38; and Melinda Davis, 57.
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