At least 50 rounds were fired by multiple masked gunmen during an attack at a crowded banquet hall that left three children and an adult dead in Stockton, San Joaquin Sheriff Patrick Withrow said Tuesday during an update to the investigation of the deadly mass shooting.
The shell casings littered across the floor of what had been a child’s birthday party on Nov. 29 also indicate at least five different firearms were used, Withrow said, adding that investigators are still processing evidence, video and tips in their investigation. A wall inside the banquet hall was left splattered with blood.
But 10 days after the shooting left four people dead, 11 wounded, and a city rattled, Withrow pleaded with the community to remain patient, saying it could still be weeks or months before arrests are made and the community receives answers.
“I know this is going to be difficult, but this is not going to be in a week or two we’ve got an answer and we start arresting people — you have to know that,” Withrow said. “This is going to take months to process all this, figure out who did this.”
The victims were identified by family members as Maya Lupian, 8; Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero, 8; Amari Peterson, 14; and Susano Archuleta, 21.
“It makes me feel like I’m in a nightmare, I’m in the Twilight Zone ever since this happened,” said Patrick Peterson, Amari’s father.
Peterson’s daughter was also wounded in the shooting, but recovered. On Tuesday, Peterson stood next to Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee during a news conference at City Hall.
Peterson urged anyone with information on the shooters to come forward. “I hope that you do the right thing because at the end of the day, if you don’t do the right thing, it’s just going to keep happening,” he said.
Lee agreed, saying, “There’s nothing else to talk about other than to catch the people who are responsible.”
On Tuesday, Withrow said investigators were still determining a motivation for the attack, but that known gang members attended the birthday party.
“We’re going to take our time, take our information, and process it,” he said.
Officials are also working to determine where the shots were fired from, Withrow said, and whether any of the attendees of the party returned fire during the attack.
Firearms were also recovered in the roof of the banquet hall, Withrow said, but officials have not yet determined whether they were connected to the attack.
Sheriff’s investigators are working with the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Justice and Stockton Police in the investigation.
Investigators are also processing more than 50 tips that have come in from the public.
Officials have offered no description of the shooters because attendees of the party said the gunmen were masked.
“The only information we’re getting so far from folks who were at the scene was that the people involved in this were dressed all in black and had face coverings, so all you could see was this,” Withrow said, motioning with his hand around his eyes. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t know who they are, or don’t believe we know who they are.”
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