Three men and three women killed in Sacramento massacre are identified

A married father-of-three and his cousin are among the six people identified as victims of a massacre that also left 12 injured outside a bar in Sacramento. 

Multiple gunmen fired 250 bullets in California’s capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, claiming the lives of three women – Johntaya Alexander, 21, Melinda Davis, 57, and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21 – and three men – Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, married father-of-three Sergio Harris, 38, and his cousin, Devazia Turner, 29. 

Martinez-Andrade, who is described as someone who ‘brought light to the room,’ was killed in front of her best friend, according to ABC 10.

‘There was never a dull moment with her. She has a beautiful heart and a beautiful mind. Everyone misses her so much,’ her best friend, who was not named, said of the 21-year-old.

The killings happened in the city’s lively entertainment district in the early hours of Sunday after a brawl broke out on 10th street outside a number of popular bars. Twelve people were wounded, at least four critically, and authorities are still searching Monday for at least two shooters. 

Police said an unidentified gunman in a car opened fire into the crowd before fleeing. A second person fired a gun but authorities do not yet know if he was in the crowd or in the car. 

Witness video reveals at least 76 shots rang out over the course of 54 seconds as people screamed and ran for cover. However, DailyMail.com photos revealed more than 250 shots were fired, as evidenced by markers at the crime scene. 

An 18-year-old woman, staying in a fourth floor room at the nearby Citizen Hotel, said she saw a man running while firing a gun, noting she could see flashes from the weapon in the darkness. 

Described by family members as the life of the party, Harris was a frequent presence at the London nightclub which is near the shooting scene.

My son was a very vivacious young man,’ his mother, Pamela Harris, told KCRA. ‘Fun to be around, liked to party, smiling all the time. Don’t bother people. For this to happen is crazy. I’m just to the point right now, I don´t know what to do. I don’t even feel like this is real. I feel like this is a dream.’

His family members congregated at the crime scene Sunday after they hadn’t heard from him for hours. Later that day, Harris was the first victim publicly identified by the coroner.

‘This is a sad and terrible act of violence that took the lives of many,’ his wife, Leticia Harris, told KCRA 3. ‘I want answers so I can have closure for my children.’

Harris is survived by his wife and children, ABC 10 reported.

Harris and his cousin had spent his night out with friends at the London nightclub, his father, Frank Turner, father of DeVazia Turner, told FOX 40.

‘He was out just having fun with his friends,’ Frank told the TV station.

Devazia Turner lived in Vacaville, about 30 miles southwest of the crime scene, but was from Sacramento, his father told ABC 10. 

His sister, Tamika Young, told KPIX TV that Turner was the father of four children.

‘I just want to make sure the world knows that he was loved,’ Young said. ‘My little brother, he was a family dude. … He had love in him.’    

Bystander video shows the moment rapid gunfire struck in downtown Sacramento early Sunday morning. 

A large group of people are seen outside a bar in an apparent fight, yelling and pushing each other. The fight breaks up as shots are fired into the crowd, causing people to duck and run.

Screaming civilians are seen hiding behind buildings and in alleyways, taking cover behind dumpsters, as the gunmen continue to fire shots. Seventy-six shots are heard in the 54 second clip. 

After the gunfire seemingly ceases, sounds of car horns and sirens fill the air. 

Another video, shared Monday morning on the TODAY Show, shows bystanders racing away as shots are fired into the crowd. A white vehicle rush past the the group as chaos erupts in the streets. 

It is unclear if the vehicle pictured in the footage belonged to the suspect and authorities did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

Police are still searching for ‘multiple’ suspects and believe at least two guns were fired. They recovered a stolen handgun at the scene. 

‘We are asking for the public’s help,’ Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said Sunday. ‘If anyone saw anything, has video or can provide any information to the police department, we are asking for their assistance.’   

A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that the shooting involved gang members and associates.

The victims’ bodies laid in the downtown streets for more than 18 hours Sunday as investigators processed the horrific scene.

Coroner’s officials removed the final three bodies around 8.30pm, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Chief Lester said the bodies remained on scene for such a lengthy amount of time ‘in order to maintain the integrity of a sprawling, complex crime scene.’ 

Harrowing DailyMail.com photos showed the body of one of the male victims and the foot of a second on the floor outside Pre Flite Lounge – one of two bars where a huge brawl kicked off in the minutes before the shooting happened.

Cheryl Keyes, 58, who lives above the bar told DailyMail.com on Sunday that the foot belonged to a woman who was lying on the street next to him, but largely out of view.

She said the bodies of a further two victims were also still on the street below her home and had been there all day, in spite of temperatures that topped out at 80f.

Keyes, distraught, said: ‘Those are people’s sons and daughters lying out there. I have six kids of my own and I can’t imagine how I’d feel if that were them.’  

Pamela Harris, mother of victim Sergio Harris, saw her son’s body lying on the ground.

‘My child is out there on that ground, you know? This don’t make any sense and there’s other people’s children that’s out there on the ground. And they won’t tell us nothing, and it’s heartbreaking,’ she told Fox 40 on Sunday, as she cried. ‘It’s heartbreaking to see what’s going on out here.’ 

The gunfire startled sleeping guests at the Citizen Hotel, which included a wedding party and fans of the rapper Tyler the Creator, who performed a concert at Golden One Center hours earlier.

From her window on the fourth floor of the hotel, 18-year-old Kelsey Schar said she witnessed the shooting, alleging she saw a gunman running while firing shots. 

Schar’s friend, Madalyn Woodward, said she saw a girl who appeared to have been shot in the arm lying on the ground. Security guards from a nearby nightclub rushed to help the girl with what looked like napkins to try to stanch the bleeding.

Steve Hicks, who attended Tyler’s show, told PBS that he was staying at the hotel with his fiancee and two daughters. 

The family did not hear the gunfire, but was awoken by the sounds of sirens. 

Tyler, the Creator has not publicly commented on the incident.

Pop stars Alyson, 33, and AJ Michalka, 30, who held a concert in Sacramento Saturday night, said they were forced to take shelter during the shooting as their tour bus was caught in the chaos.

‘Our bus was caught in the crossfire but we sheltered in place and everyone in our touring group is ok. Thank you for everyone reaching out,’ the sisters tweeted on Sunday.

‘A reminder to keep your loved ones extra close today. We have to do something about gun violence in this country.’ 

The former Disney stars added: ‘All of our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives and those recovering today. We’re praying for the health care workers caring for them. We hope all our fans made it home safe.’  

President Joe Biden called for new gun laws Sunday, just hours after the shooting.

‘Ban ghost guns,’ the president said. ‘Require background checks for all gun sales. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.’ 

Biden, 79, thanked the first responders in Sacramento Sunday and then noted that it was likely they weren’t the only victims of gun violence across the country overnight, saying America needed to do something about it. 

‘We equally mourn for those victims and families who do not make national headlines,’ he said in a statement. ‘But we must do more than mourn; we must act.’

He cited his administration’s work implementing gun reforms, including attempting to stop those trafficking firearms, plus expanding funds for police.  

Biden implored Congress to pass his budget proposal, which ‘would give cities more of the funding they need to fund the police and fund the crime prevention and intervention strategies that can make our cities safer.’  

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr slammed federal and local politicians for failing to pass ‘common-sense’ gun legislation as the nations mourns amid the lives lost in Sunday’s massacre.

‘I don’t think moments of silence are going to do anything,’ Kerr said during a Sunday press conference, The Hill reported. 

‘At some point…our government has to decide are we going to have some common sense gun laws, it’s not going to solve everything, but it will save lives’

The basketball coach cited a gun control bill proposed by Congressman Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, that never made it to the Senate Chamber.  

‘Despite the fact that 80 to 90 percent of Americans support background checks and you know, you think about all of the common sense laws we could and should put in place,’ Kerr argued.

‘If we had any guts, if our government had any guts, if people put others in front of their own career paths, you know, in front of their own reelection campaigns, in front of their own propaganda to manipulate people. It’s right there in front of us.’

Kerr also issued his condolences to the victims, their families and the city of Sacramento as a whole.   

Bloody cloths could still be seen littering the ground outside London, a popular Sacramento bar, late Sunday while at the far end – across the street from the California State Capitol – the families of the victims waited for news.

Most were too shattered to speak with DailyMail.com but Eunice Appling, whose cousin is Sergio Harris, 38, said she was devastated.

Appling, who was at the scene when the shooting happened, told DailyMail.com that her overwhelming memory was of ‘blood’. The multiple stitched up cuts on her forehead were, she said, caused when she tripped up while trying to get away.

Keyes told DailyMail.com she had spent time with Harris earlier that evening and said: ‘We had been there chatting and at the end he started calling me ‘aunty’.

‘He was a good guy. I never thought something like this would happen to him.’ 

Harris had been out at the London nightclub before the shooting, his wife Leticia said Sunday. The couple have three children together.

Leticia and Harris’s mom, Pamela Harris, both combed the streets for information about their missing loved one before being given the bad news after his remains were discovered.

The women were seen sobbing after being informed of Harris’s death. Speaking before learning of her son’s fate, Pamela told NBC Bay Area: ‘We just want to know what happened to him. Not knowing anything is just hard to face.’ 

Turner’s father said his son had been out drinking at a bar on K Street around the time of his death. As their family navigates this tragedy, Frank said he wants the public to know the type of person Turner was.

‘He was being a good father. He’s a good father. That’s it. I don’t have another son … OK,’ Frank told the tv station.

Frank said the news of his son’s tragic murder had been broken brusquely by cops.

He said: ‘They [police] didn’t tell me nothing. They just confirmed that he’s a body over there.’ 

Turner’s mom, Penny, also told of how she’d received a call in the early hours of Sunday morning breaking the news of her son’s tragic death.   

Kay Harris, a Sacramento resident, said she was asleep when one of her family members called to say they thought her brother had been killed. He had reportedly gone out to London, a nightclub located on 10th Street.

‘Very much so a senseless violent act,’ she told the Associated Press. 

Harris, 32, said she has been to the club a few times and described it as a place for ‘the younger crowd.’  

The gunfire erupted near 10th and J Streets, about two blocks from the capitol building, around 2am Sunday, just after a fight broke out on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars.

Witnesses reported seeing a person in a car pull out a semi-automatic weapon and begin shooting into a crowd gathered outside the El Santo Restaurant & Ultralounge. 

Multiple ambulances responded to the scene as paramedics provided CPR and other treatment to victims on the sidewalks while authorities ushered crowds of people to safety.  

Chief Lester has revealed few details about the investigation but said the ‘scale of violence that just happened in our city is unprecedented during my 27 years here.’

‘We are shocked and heartbroken by this tragedy, but we are also resolved as an agency to find those responsible and to secure justice for the victims and the families.’

Of the 12 wounded, at least four suffered critical injuries, the Sacramento Fire Department said. 

Four of the injured were taken to UC Davis Medical Center and spokesperson Stephanie Winn said Monday that two were still hospitalized and that two had been discharged overnight. She did not provide information about conditions of the patients who were still hospitalized. 

It is unclear if the victims in Sunday’s massacre were deliberately targeted.

Small memorials with candles, balloons and flowers were placed near the crime scene on Monday morning.

One balloon had a message that read: ‘You will forever be in our hearts and thoughts. Nothing will ever be the same.’

Streets were reopened to car and foot traffic and police tape was removed. Aside from a handful of TV cameras, there was little sign of the previous day’s bloodshed.

Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg and other city officials decried escalating violence in the city while also urging people to keep coming downtown for events like professional basketball games and performances of the Broadway musical Wicked.

‘We can never accept it as normal and we never will,’ Steinberg said of the shooting. ‘But we also have to live our lives.’ 

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement Sunday, described the shooting as ‘yet another horrendous act of gun violence’ in the state. His administration is working with law enforcement ‘as we monitor the situation.’

‘What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief,’ Newsom said. ‘The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and we must resolve to bring an end to this carnage.’ 

Source: dailymail