The joyous anticipation of a toddler’s birthday celebration turned into a scene of chaos as gunfire erupted in a crowded banquet hall in California, interrupting a family gathering intended for cake-cutting festivities.

“Initially, I mistook the noise for balloons popping,” recalled Patrice Williams, the mother of the birthday girl, when the reality of gunshots set in.

While her two-year-old daughter remained unharmed, Williams shared with The Associated Press on Monday that her sister, a cousin, and three friends were injured during the shooting spree that rattled the Saturday evening celebrations in Stockton.

Stockton records a lot of violent crime

Stockton, a city home to 320,000 people and located about 130 kilometers east of San Francisco, has been grappling with a high incidence of violent crime. In 2024, the city recorded 3,680 violent crimes, a rate more than twice the state average, encompassing offenses such as homicide, rape, assault, and robbery, as per city and state statistics.

Data from the Public Policy Institute of California highlight that Stockton’s region, the San Joaquin Valley, reported the highest violent crime rate in the state in 2023.

Following the unsettling events, the Stockton Police Department arrested five individuals, including a minor, on charges related to weapons and gang activities. However, authorities clarified that these arrests were not linked to the tragic shooting at the family event, according to the sheriff’s statement.

It was the 17th US mass killing of the year with at least four victim fatalities, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Mayor Christina Fugazi told reporters that the eight-year-old victim attended a local school and had a parent who worked for the Stockton Unified School District. The mayor said counsellors would be available this week at city schools.

She expressed anguish over the loss of victims so young.

“They should be writing their Christmas lists right now. Their parents should be out shopping for them for Christmas. And to think that their lives are over. I can’t even begin to imagine what these families are going through. Breaks my heart,” Fugazi said on Sunday.