Families mourn two men who shot and killed each other outside a North Highlands store

Porscha Revell teared up while standing next to her cousin, Rayanna Coney, Tuesday afternoon in North Highlands. The women were standing just feet from where their partners died, in the India Market parking lot.

“This is unbearable,” Coney said.

Kareem Simmons, 35, and Shaneil Tucker, 40, died in a double homicide shooting in the parking lot Saturday night, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department officials said. Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a shooting in a parking lot on Elkhorn Boulevard after 9 p.m. Saturday and found Tucker and Simmons unresponsive, the department said in a press release.

Family members said in an interview Tuesday that Tucker and Simmons allegedly shot each other following a dispute earlier in the day, calling the shooting a “tragedy.”

“I’m devastated by this happening to him,” said Revell, 32, Tucker’s wife and mother of his two children. “This is just tragic to us. We can’t believe this happened.”

“We’re still working to confirm every detail before releasing a statement,” said Sgt. Shaun Hampton, spokesman for the sheriff’s department. “We want to make sure the evidence corroborates what we obtained from witness statements.”

Tucker and Simmons had a tense relationship for some time said Coney, 27, Simmons’ girlfriend and mother of three of his five children.

Revell and Coney are first cousins and said they had tried to reconcile the two men.

Though the two women said they thought the disagreement had been resolved, Tucker and Simmons allegedly left their North Highlands home and walked to the parking lot behind India Market where they drew weapons and shot at each other, Revell said.

Revell and Coney said they didn’t see the two men leave the house. They were out walking when they heard the gunshots.

“By the time she hit the corner and I hit the corner, we seen them both laid out right there,” Revell said, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke. “I almost fainted. ... It was just too much”

Coney went to the hospital with Simmons where he was pronounced dead, she said.

A vigil for the two men was scheduled outside India Market at 5203 Elkhorn Boulevard at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Coney remembered Simmons as “happy,” “cheerful,” and described him as “the best person ever” who “loved his children dearly.”

He worked in window tinting and was trying to start his own business, she said.

He is survived by five children including Elijah, 16; Kamryn, 5; Kareem Jr., 3; and Kamari, 1.

Revell said Tucker was a “good, loving father” to his two children, Adrian, 3, and Aneila, 2.

Tucker had worked as a caregiver to seniors while also driving for a ride-sharing service, Revell said.

“We got to stay strong for our families, especially our kids,” Revell said.

This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 6:28 PM.