Sacramento confronts a mass shooting for the second time in weeks

Sacramento is the scene of a mass shooting for the second time in barely a month.

In late February the region was horrified when 39-year-old David Mora shot his three daughters to death in a church, along with a man who was supervising a court-ordered visit with the children. Mora then shot himself to death.

In the latest horrifying incident, Sacramento police said six people had been killed, and at least 12 wounded, by an unknown gunman at around 2 a.m. Sunday on K Street downtown.

Mora, armed with an AR 15-style rifle, was at The Church in Sacramento, on Wyda Way in Arden Arcade, for a supervised family visit with the girls and was the subject of a temporary restraining order issued in April 2021 that prohibited him from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Mora, who was known as David Fidel Mora-Rojas, had been arrested a week earlier in Merced County on charges of resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and driving under the influence after he assaulted a Los Banos California Highway Patrol officer, authorities said.

Mora’s girlfriend sought a temporary restraining order against Mora last year, visiting the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center for help, according to Faith Whitmore, the center’s chief executive officer. Court documents show that a five-year domestic violence restraining order against Mora was issued last May. It ordered him to stay at least 100 yards away from her and their daughters except for supervised visits of up to four hours that were to be overseen by family friend.

The Mora shooting raised troubling questions about how someone with his record was able to obtain a firearm. The answer, experts said, was that the system of issuing restraining orders in domestic violence cases relies almost exclusively on the willingness of the abuser to obey the order and voluntarily hand over his weapons.

This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 6:54 AM.