Three children among dead in mass shooting at Stockton-area birthday party
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Stockton-area birthday shooting kills several; DA vows pursuit of maximum charges
- San Joaquin County Sheriff leads probe with ATF support; road closure shutters businesses
- Mayor and officials urge residents to provide tips; DA promises accountability
Authorities on Sunday released the ages of the four people fatally shot during a child’s birthday party at a Stockton banquet hall, including three children under the age of 15.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said the deceased victims were 8, 9 and 14 years old, along with a 21-year-old adult. In total, 15 people were shot in the attack, which occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday at a banquet venue in the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue, north of Stockton city limits.
Officials have not released any updates on the conditions of the 11 people wounded in the shooting.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent said no arrests have been made. Investigators were exploring “all possibilities,” she said, and have not identified a suspect or motive.
Here is the latest on this shooting, at about 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Sheriff Withrow: ‘Need the public’s help on this’
During a media briefing on Sunday afternoon, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said that his team had been working “for the past 21 hours” at the scene, seeking witness statements and trying to locate video of the shooting.
Withrow said he was confident that the individuals involved in the shooting would be brought to justice, though he added, “But we still need the public’s help on this. We need everyone who has any information on this to reach out to us.”
The shootings came at a children’s birthday party on Saturday evening. Withrow referred multiple times during his briefing to those responsible as “animals.”
“These animals walked in and shot children at a children’s birthday party,” Withrow said. “And none of us should stand for that.”
County not releasing victim names ‘at this time’
Hilary Crowley, a public information officer for San Joaquin County provided an emailed statement at 3 p.m. Sunday.
“In the wake of last night’s senseless and heartbreaking mass shooting, our community is grieving an unimaginable loss,” Crowley wrote. “Out of the deepest respect for the families whose lives have been forever changed — and at the request of investigators — San Joaquin County will not be releasing the names of those who were killed at this time.”
Crowley’s statement didn’t indicate if the county intends to release the names of the 11 people who were wounded in the shooting, aside from the four people killed.
Residents react to shooting
Armando Reyez, 32, has lived for 11 years in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred on Saturday evening and now lives a few blocks east of the shooting site. Reyez wasn’t home at the time of the shooting but heard about it right away from a neighbor.
“It isn’t perfect, but not like this,” Reyez said of his neighborhood.
Reyez lives with his wife and two children, ages 6 and 4. Saturday’s shooting left him thinking of his loved ones’ safety. “Now I worry about my kids,” he said.
Emilia Soto, 53, was in her kitchen about two blocks west of the site when shots rang out. She does not know how many gunshots she heard. She tried to count “but there was too many,” she said.
Soto heard faint screaming and “so many sirens,” she said. She didn’t go outside but saw the flashing lights of first responders through her window.
This was the first time Soto had heard gunfire nearby in the three years she’d lived in the area, she said.
Yolanda Morgande lives with her husband about a mile northwest of the site, which was near a Dairy Queen. “We’re at the DQ almost every day,” she said. She and her husband, both chaplains at The Word Church, came to the crime scene to pray and offer support to community members and first responders, she said. Morgande brought a sign that said, “Jesus loves you.”
They invited other members of their congregation to join them and about a dozen, including some young children, showed up at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“This violence has been plaguing our city for a while,” she said. Morgande found the online discourse about the shooting demoralizing, she said. “So many comments were like ‘it’s just Stockton,’ but the violence shouldn’t be normalized,” she said. “We live here. We don’t want our grandkids thinking violence is alright.”
Tragedies like this bring the community together, Morgande said. “The community, the churches, come out to help each other,” she said.
Marla Dunn, 47, was born and raised in Stockton. She lives a mile from the site of the shooting, which she said was “just terrible.” She attends a nearby church.
“We’re all praying for them,” Dunn said. The neighborhood has changed since Dunn was a girl. “There’s more trash, more homeless, but it’s still a good place to live I’d say,” Dunn said.
Vigil held
Stockton faith leaders held a vigil at 3 p.m. Sunday close to the site of the shooting.
Richard Stoeckl, a community organizer for Faith in the Valley, found a spot close to the scene of the shooting.
“Our hope is just to pray over the city, to give space for clergy to create an atmosphere that the city can grieve,” Stoeckl said.
He noted the age of the victims.
“In our city, we don’t really think of those type of things happening,” Stoeckl said. “But... people getting hit by gunfire and mostly children – that’s disgusting.”
Hundreds showed up for the vigil and speakers included faith community representatives and elected officials. Leon Scoggins, founder and lead pastor of Life Unity Church in Stockton, attended and led a moment of silence. He also spoke.
“I’m mad as hell that an 8-year-old, that a 9-year-old, that a 14-year-old, that a 21-year-old was killed in our city,” Scoggins said.
Birthday party turns deadly
The shooting erupted during a child’s birthday party, according to Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee. The venue, known as the Monkey Space, is in a former children’s theater near Thornton Plaza.
The event had about 100 to 150 attendees, Brent said.
Investigators do not yet know if the shooting began at the banquet hall, Brent said. The shooting occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday.
Sheriff’s personnel were on scene within minutes, according to Brent. Deputies responded after multiple 911 calls reported gunfire and victims, including juveniles. Video shared on social media showed medics treating at least one victim on the street outside the banquet hall. Clothing and debris were scattered across the pavement as deputies secured the area.
“Early indications suggest this may be a targeted incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities asked anyone with video or information about the shooting to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office or Stockton Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.
Shooting stirs memories of 1989 school shooting
Bishop Dwight Williams, 60 of New Genesis Outreach Ministries said he’s lived in Stockton his entire life. He said he remembered “very well” another of the city’s darkest days, when a gunman shot 35 children, five of them fatally, and wounded a teacher at Cleveland Elementary School on Jan. 17, 1989, before turning his gun on himself.
In general, Williams knows the critical remarks people can make about his city.
“I hear people say all the time, ‘Oh, you’re from Stockton? Oh, my God, you’re from that place,’” Williams said.
He’s quick to defend Stockton. “Stockton is a great city,” Williams said. “If I didn’t think Stockton was a great city to live, I wouldn’t have stayed here all my life.”
One of Stockton’s strengths, he said, is its diversity.
“Because of the rich diversity in Stockton, we are very good at coalescing together, regardless of ethnic lines, regardless of denominational lines, even regardless of philosophical lines, politically speaking to come together in moments like this, to try to be a support one to another,” Williams said.
Officials condemn violence, plead for help
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said his office would pursue maximum charges once a suspect is arrested.
“When this individual is caught, you have my promise that you will have the full force of my office’s resources in holding this individual fully accountable,” Freitas said at the scene. “Children should not be harmed by gun and gang violence.”
Mayor Christina Fugazi and other city leaders urged residents to come forward with any leads.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff is leading the investigation, supported by other agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. Thornton Road between Waudman Avenue and Wagner Heights Road remains closed, businesses shuttered.
“I’m heartbroken by the violence and tragedy in Stockton and the senseless loss of life that has resulted from this,” Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, who represents the area, said in a statement. “My heart is with the families experiencing unimaginable pain and with those who have been injured.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2025 at 10:27 AM.
