1 hurt in downtown Sacramento shooting. Man screamed ‘why,’ 911 caller tells police dispatch

Residents who paced outside the 7th and H Housing Community spoke while in disbelief as officers inside the downtown Sacramento apartment building investigated a shooting Thursday that left a man injured with at least one gunshot wound.

“It could have been me if I was home,” said Ray Brown, 60, who had stepped out briefly to run errands. He returned to find the 150-unit affordable housing development, near county administrative buildings, blocked off in yellow crime scene tape.

Sacramento police said officers went just before 1 p.m. to the 700 block of Seventh Street after getting a call about a shooting. The victim suffered a non-life-threatening injury, police said.

A 911 caller reported the incident happened on the eighth floor of the 7th and H Housing Community and that a man screamed “why” after it unfolded, according to archived dispatcher calls.

Police said late Thursday they had arrested a 34-year-old Sacramento man in connection to the shooting. He was located on the 6700 block of 50th Street “after extensive follow up and investigation” by officers, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department said.

Mercy Housing, a national nonprofit offering affordable housing, owns the building. It did not immediately return a call seeking comment about its security measures.

The housing complex is across the street from Sacramento County’s parking garage and around the corner from a federal courthouse building, Sacramento Superior Court and the Sacramento County Main Jail.

Area residents said they wouldn’t expect a shooting like this to happen mere yards from government buildings.

“You don’t think of somebody shooting up a building or even in an apartment in downtown Sacramento,” said Sarah Phillips, who was walking her dogs and waiting to return home. “This is something you don’t hear of.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 4:18 PM.