G1C concert canceled after fireworks mistaken for gunfire rattle downtown Sacramento crowds

A series of fireworks set off panic Friday night in downtown Sacramento near Golden 1 Center, prompting a rap concert inside to be canceled and police to shut down roads and passageways amid an otherwise typical Friday night around Downtown Commons.

Hundreds packed DoCo while awaiting rapper Rod Wave’s performance at the arena. Dozens also frequented the area’s bar and eateries for Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.

But the crowds, which spilled out past the DoCo plaza, became restless as doors to Golden 1 Center didn’t open at 6 p.m. and hours ticked by. People became frustrated and angry, said Heather Haavisto.

Haavisto, with her friend, watched the Dodgers’ 10th-inning victory at Tom’s Watch Bar when someone screamed “shots fired” and a frenzy ensued. Dozens began leaping into the bar, jumping over furniture to duck out of the way, Haavisto said.

“There was a lot of panic,” said Haavisto’s friend Amy Fitzpatrick.

On Friday night, police said in a statement “there is no evidence of any shooting. Officers did locate evidence of fireworks.”

Rod Wave show called off for second night

On Saturday afternoon, Golden 1 Center officials said the show that had merely been postponed was canceled.

“Due to no fault of the artist or promoter, Golden 1 Center has had to postpone the Rod Wave Show that was rescheduled for tonight because of staffing issues,” the arena said. “The tour will announce the rescheduled date. All tickets will be honored. Guests seeking refunds can do so at their original point of purchase.”

Hours before the cancellation, Sacramento police officials said they had planned to have “a number of officers scheduled for the interior and exterior of the event.” They did not elaborate on the number of officers they had planned to post around the arena.

Three people were injured, two of whom were transported to the hospital, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman said.

No arrests have been made, police said.

Friday’s commotion started at 8:57 p.m. when blasts that sounded like gunfire were heard.

Seconds after the booms ricocheted across the plaza, an officer relayed over police radio that “someone said there were gunshots outside the front of the doors of the arena.”

Meanwhile, several people ran by a beer hall on Seventh and K streets yelling as patrons scrambled out of their seats. Several moments later, a Bee journalist and others saw at least 30 people running on K toward Eighth Street.

The scene was reminiscent to the patrons inside Ruhstaller BSMT of a shootout three blocks away at 10th and K streets on April 3, 2022. That shooting more than two years ago happened as bars let out for the night and resulted in the deaths of six people; 12 others were wounded.

Amid the frenzy, in radio dispatches monitored by The Sacramento Bee, an officer confirmed trouble was afoot, adding “we got a count of hundred running out to the west” from the plaza.

A supervising officer commanded patrolmen and motorbike cops in the area to use lights and sirens in responding, saying “keep units Code 3 until we get this all stabilized, please. We got at least 5,000 — 8,000 people outside, copy?”

The people in the running swarm errantly said that there were gunshots, others said there was a large fistfight. However, as people assessed the situation, police officers and witnesses said that a series of fireworks had been set off near the arena.

At 9:13 p.m., a Sacramento Police Department spokesman confirmed “fireworks in DOCO Plaza.” He followed up with “sounds like officers found evidence of fireworks. No persons reporting any injuries from gunfire.”

There were at least two waves of people running, witnesses recalled.

“I saw people running, so I just ran,” said Amaya Rose, who was in the second crowd. “I knew I needed to get out of there.”

Multiple police officers streamed into the pedestrian thoroughfare along K Street a few beats behind them.

One of the first officers on scene at Seventh and K, who did not want to comment because he was not authorized to speak, told The Bee that it was fireworks and not gunshots. He declined to answer further questions.

Another officer who ran up said people were running and tried to “breach” doors in a moment of panic.

Police quickly moved to shut down Downtown Commons as Golden 1 Center security cleared the arena, which was hosting a concert by Wave as part of his “Last Lap” tour. An officer radioed to colleagues that the concert was canceled for the night, according to audio dispatches reviewed by The Bee.

In announcing the postponement late Friday, Golden 1 Center officials said “the safety of our guests and fans is our number one priority.”

The next event scheduled for the arena will be Monday’s Kings basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Next weekend’s lineup for seven Disney on Ice shows remains. A Saturday night, Nov. 9, concert for hip-hop singer Keshi was called off by the artist in September.

‘You just get on the floor’

Fitzpatrick and Haavisto, both residents of Kansas City, Mo., came to Sacramento to watch the Kings’ home opener on Thursday.

But they witnessed widespread chaos on Friday amid the uncertainty. They did not hear the fireworks.

Tom’s Watch Bar closed its large windows and doors after an incorrect call of “shots fired” sent hundreds scrambling.

Those inside the bar crammed through a side exit, with concertgoers calling their friends frantically after being separated from the crowd. A child clung to a woman’s leg crying, the women said, as another person clutched their leg apparently injured in the melee, Haavisto said. Many people lost their shoes during the stampede, she said.

Both women have experienced the terror wrought by a shooting in a large crowd before. They were present when gunfire erupted in during the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl victory parade.

“You don’t know what direction (bullets) are coming from,” Haavisto said. “When people start running ... you don’t wait around to figure out if it’s a firework or not. You just get on the floor.”

Confusion spread for the women when they learned at least one person had set off the fireworks.

“Why would you have that on your person?” Fitzpatrick said. “What’s the point? What are you trying to do?”

Haavisto felt worn down by after experiencing multiple incidents in which guns could have been fired in a large crowd.

“I was, frankly, really mad,” Haavisto said. “Because I’m tired of having to do this.”

As calm returned, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was above, telling people of the fireworks and asking them to clear the area. By 11 p.m., the plaza sat mostly empty as police officers watched over the area amid the distant sound of club music.

Chaos evokes memories of Sacramento’s deadliest shooting

Friday’s panic briefly stirred memories of the downtown shooting two years ago when, prosecutors and law enforcement say, rival gang members opened fire on one another amid a sea of late-night clubgoers on a Saturday night.

Three men were accused of homicide in connection with the 10th and K shooting and two of those men — Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton — will face trial on charges of murder.

The third man, Smiley Martin, the older brother of Dandrae, died June 8 while in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail awaiting trial. He was wounded in the shootout.

Smiley Martin’s manner of death was ruled an overdose and caused by a methadone toxicity, according to the coroner’s report. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into his in-cell death remains under investigation. Family members told The Sacramento Bee that the drug blamed on his death, methadone, had not been something Martin was prescribed while in custody.

The remaining defendants face numerous murder and attempted murder charges after prosecutors said the trio were a part of two rivals gangs who unleashed a hail of bullets that cut down dozens of innocent people as people exited area clubs.

In recent months, the Martins and Payton, 29, were back in a Sacramento courtroom for a preliminary hearing that laid out the chaos wrought that early April morning: 114 different shell casings, 94 of them fired from 9 mm weapons. Seven different firearms recovered, including one that had been converted to fire in full-automatic mode, were recovered from the scene.

The Martin brothers were arrested April 20 in connection with the shootout at 10th and K streets as bars let out the night of April 3.

Authorities say the Martins and Payton were part of two rival gang groups that squared off and opened fire on each other, spraying at least 114 rounds throughout the streets where as many as 80 people were gathered.

In less than three minutes, Smiley Martin allegedly fired 28 rounds from a fully automatic Glock 19 handgun. In all, more than 100 shell casings littered the streets. Martin was wounded in the exchange and tossed the handgun — equipped with a 30-round magazine and a laser sight — before seeking medical attention at a hospital, according to prosecutors’ description of that night.

Before the shooting, Martin was seen with his brother and Hoye-Lucchesi on an Instagram video posted hours before the shooting several miles away on Traction Avenue in Old North Sacramento. The three were seen posing with two black handguns, one equipped with a high-capacity magazine, as well as a rifle, the documents say.

“In the video, filmed while the three men were in north Sacramento (territory claimed by the Del Paso Heights Bloods), both Joshua Hoye and defendant Smiley Martin discuss going to downtown Sacramento while armed to loiter outside nightclubs, display gang hand signs to the camera, point firearms at the camera, openly and repeatedly state their allegiance to the Garden Blocc Crips (“GBC”) and boast about shooting rival gang members,” prosecutors said in court documents.

In the video, Smiley Martin was also seen saying he could not enter any downtown nightclubs because he was not carrying identification.

Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, were innocent bystanders caught in the gunfight. The barrage also killed Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; DeVazia Turner, 29; and Sergio Harris, 38; authorities said that the men were also involved in the gunfight.

The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 25 after Martin and Payton were re-arraigned on Oct. 15, according to court records. The trial had been expected to start in November but the men will appear for an update hearing on Nov. 4.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 9:20 PM.