Authorities release name of man shot by Sacramento police at community boxing event
Authorities have released the name of a man shot by police as he reportedly pointed a gun at a crowd who had gathered for a community boxing event Saturday night in a North Sacramento warehouse.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office released the name of Augustine Bernardo Morales, 38, who died after he was shot by a Sacramento police sergeant at the warehouse in the 1600 block of Juliesse Avenue.
Morales, who suffered life-threatening injuries in the police shooting, was taken by ambulance to hospital, where he was pronounced dead by medical staff, according to a Sacramento Police Department news release. Police said investigators found a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun near Morales.
Jacques Houston, the organizer of the event called “Gunz Down Gloves Up: North Side Edition,” told The Sacramento Bee that he wanted to bring together youth from the area for a night of boxing. The event, modeled on a trend that has seen popularity across the country, was meant to bring awareness to gun violence and offer a healthy alternative.
Police said the event erupted into chaos when someone opened fire.
About 6:30 p.m. Saturday, officers were called to the warehouse in the Cannon Industrial Park, not far from Del Paso Boulevard and the Hagginwood neighborhood, to respond to reports of reckless driving in the area.
Officers arrived and saw the large group of people at the warehouse for the boxing event. The police patrol sergeant remained in the area.
Houston told The Bee that the police sergeant’s presence made him feel safe, “that nobody can drive by and shoot at these 300, 400 people in here.”
About 8 p.m., the sergeant saw a lot of people running from the building, and one person told the sergeant someone had a gun, according to police. Officials said the sergeant was walking onto the property and heard gunshots.
Police said the sergeant ran toward the sound of gunfire and confronted the armed suspect who was pointing the gun toward the crowd inside the warehouse. The sergeant then fired his gun at the suspect, who has been identified as Morales.
Officer Karl Chan, a department spokesman, has said it was not immediately known if the suspect fired any shots toward the sergeant.
Officers searching near the warehouse that night found a person who was shot in the leg. He was taken to a hospital, and his injuries were not life-threatening, police officials have said. Investigators on Saturday had not determined how this person was shot.
