Remembering the four young lives taken in the Stockton birthday party shooting
Three were children. Amari Peterson, the oldest, was 14. Maya Lupian was 8, two weeks shy of her 9th birthday. Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero too was 8, “a curious and gentle soul,” her mother remembered.
The fourth victim, Susano Archuleta, was 21, a young man just starting on the road of adulthood.
We know their names now even as we learn more about the lives cut short by gunfire. Young lives stopped at a birthday party for a child even younger, just 2 years old, leaving behind families, friends, classmates and Central Valley communities shaken to their core.
“Kids were literally living their best lives having the time of their life,” said Stockton community activist Demar Johnson, who said young Amari’s death underscored the urgency of protecting youth in a region where children can be caught in sudden violence.
The intersecting images defy reason and tear at the heart, challenging a city that has long confronted violence. A children’s toy unicorn splattered with blood. A brightly colored cup of birthday ice cream abandoned behind crime tape, now evidence of a massacre that remains unsolved. A banquet hall once filled for a celebration, now a shrine to the dead and the hurting. It may never reopen.
“There’s no business there anymore,” its owner said. “It’s a memorial.”
A weary Stockton has come together in the days since the Nov. 29 shooting. Hundreds converged for a candlelight vigil, some mourning family members lost to earlier violence, to call for justice, unity and an end to the killing.
The Central Valley Hornets and the Stockton Kings plan to host a fundraising night, with proceeds benefiting the Peterson family. The horror resonated internationally. Nigerian singing star Burna Boy has offered to pay funeral costs for the families of the four.
Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee was among those giving voice to the city’s pain. A Stockton native and a victim of gun violence, his words carry hard-won weight.
“What happened in our city has broken all of our hearts. Killing a child is one of the most evil acts any human can commit, and to have this tragedy happen here — in our own community — is something none of us will ever forget,” Lee wrote to his Facebook page. “In times like these, we must come together. We must love harder, show up stronger, and refuse to let violence define our city.”
Now, families are left to grieve — and to remember. In the wake of the violence, loved ones are holding fast to who these young people were: their laughter, their dreams and the lives they had only just begun to live.
Amari Peterson, 14
Amari was the second of five children — the oldest, 18, the youngest, 1 — and perfect in his father’s eyes.
“He was my little golden child,” his dad, Patrick Peterson, told The Sacramento Bee in a telephone interview from the Peterson’s Modesto home. “His job was to be a good boy, get good grades. He had this wonderful smile that would light the sky. He was just the perfect kid.”
Amari was an honor roll student who loved basketball, football and big-wheeled bikes and enjoyed and excelled early. Dad said the 49ers were playing the day he was born, Oct. 16, 2011, a Sunday.
“He started playing football when he was just 5, 6 years old. You just saw he was going to be something,” Peterson said. “He was a very good basketball player, football player. He made things look so easy.”
He wasn’t just good. “Generational,” said Brent Bonander, who coached Amari for six years in the Central Valley Hornets League.
But Amari was more than that. His coaches and teammates up and down the San Joaquin Valley, close as family, were heartbroken by the news.
Damian Flores of Flores Boxing Academy in Ceres went to his Instagram page in the hours and days after the shooting to rally support for Amari and his family. The families are tight — Amari’s father is a strength and conditioning coach under Flores’ wing.
“At least two, three times a week, they come to my house. I tell them I love them, they say, ‘Love you, Coach.’ I love this family dearly, it’s why I did what I did. This is a family trying to make it. I love them.”
Amari’s life, as with the others taken away Saturday, is lived now in memories and the thoughts of what might have been.
“You have a son, you’ve seen him. Every. Single. Day. He’s like your twin,” Patrick Peterson said at one point. “It was like Mufasa having Simba. I’m just waiting for you to shine.”
Patrick Peterson tried desperately to keep his son alive amid the chaos of Saturday night. Amari’s younger sister was also hurt but managed to escape by leaping over a back fence to safety. She’s at home now and healing.
But the family now faces a funeral for the 14-year-old as they replay the horror of that day over and over.
“He made me into the man I am today. I can’t live with the fact that I couldn’t save my son,” Peterson said. “I can’t believe I’m talking about my son in the past tense. I have all of these pictures of him smiling. It’s going to hurt me to my core.”
Maya Lupian, 8
Maya was a radiant girl who loved to dance and sing. A third-grader at Stockton’s Aspire Apex Academy, Maya shined in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, her older sister, Yesenia Lupian, remembered in Maya’s GoFundMe appeal.
“Maya was the most outgoing 8-year-old you’d ever meet,” Yesenia wrote. “Maya was the light in everyone’s life, the sweetest soul.”
Maya was already dreaming and achieving. She wanted to be a baker, her school said, and, at 8, had already earned a purple belt in karate — the level of an advancing student who has gained a deeper understanding and knowledge of the martial art.
Maya would have turned 9 in two weeks’ time, on Dec. 13. She is survived by her parents, two older brothers, sister Yesenia and her two nieces among her many family and friends.
The shock and pain of her sudden loss has her family adrift.
“We are devastated, heartbroken and trying to navigate the impossible,” Yesenia wrote.
And Maya deserved so much more, her sister said. She’ll never have the chance.
“She deserved a childhood full of laughter, school days, karate, family time and dreams,” Yesenia said. “Not this.”
Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero, 8
A photograph shows a smiling Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero framed by a backdrop of blue butterfly’s wings. It’s a fitting metaphor for a girl whose mother remembered her as a “curious and gentle soul,” and a lasting image of a life taken away far too soon.
Journey was 8 years old. A sister, 18; two brothers, 15, and 10; and her parents survive her. She was killed while celebrating her cousin’s second birthday at the Lucile Avenue venue space.
“Journey was growing up beautifully and should have had a long life where she could learn and play as much as she pleased,” her mother, Jackie Reotutar, wrote for the family’s GoFundMe appeal. “She had so many dreams and goals she wanted to reach.”
Journey was a third-grader at Commodore Stockton Skills School, an inquisitive child eager to share what she learned, her mother said. She loved trivia and puzzling out math games, that curious mind at work. Crafting and creating art, baking and gymnastics were but a few of her favorite things.
She had many friends at her Stockton school. She was helpful and kind.
“She would always offer a helping hand to anyone she knew,” her mother said.
And, she had dreams. Dreams she should have been able to chase. She wanted to be a cheerleader. She wanted to continue her gymnastics. She wanted to be a doctor.
“Journey was always an inspiration for her family to do their best,” said her mother. “She wanted to help people.”
Susano Archuleta, 21
Susano Archuleta was the oldest of the four killed in the Saturday night shooting.
He also died a hero that night, said friend Johnson Thanadabouth on his Facebook page. The account has become a sort of digital shrine, a montage of memories dedicated to Archuleta and the children who lost their lives.
“Susano Archuleta selflessly put the safety of others before his own during the tragic shooting,” Thanadabouth wrote. “He bravely protected kids in the area, showing incredible strength and determination. Susano’s family remembers him as brave, heroic, and loyal, and his actions will never be forgotten.”
Archuleta was one among the multigenerational mosaic of families and friends, children and grown-ups from Modesto to Galt who crowded the birthday party Saturday. Archuleta, of Stockton, joined his brother, Emmanuel Lopez, and Lopez’s 9-year-old daughter for what had been a joyous celebration of a child who had just turned 2, the young daughter of a friend.
Then the shooting started. Lopez’s daughter was shot in the head, but survived, Lopez told the Los Angeles Times. Archuleta was shot in the neck and died in his brother’s arms, Lopez told the Times.
Archuleta was remembered by Thanadabouth as “an exceptionally loving individual” who cared for his family.
But his memory will also be call to action for a city reeling from gun violence.
“This senseless tragedy has shaken Stockton and surrounding cities, highlighting the devastating impact of gun violence on families and communities. A child’s birthday party should be a safe and joyful celebration, not a crime scene,” Thanadabouth wrote. “We’ll honor Susano’s memory by speaking out and working towards a safer, more compassionate world.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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