Teen gunned down on Natomas High School campus; Sacramento police search for suspect
A former Natomas High School student was fatally shot Friday afternoon on the South Natomas campus as school let out for the day, according to school district officials and the Sacramento Police Department.
Officers responded shortly after 3:30 p.m. to a reported shooting in the 3200 block of Truxel Road, near the Natomas High School and Discovery High School campuses. Classes had been dismissed about 10 minutes earlier.
Police spokesperson Officer Anthony Gamble said the teen victim was not an active student at Natomas or Discovery but was on campus in an open area at the time of the shooting. The victim’s identity was not released pending notification by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
Gamble said the victim attended a “nearby school,” but declined to elaborate as officers continued the search for the shooting suspect, who he said is a Natomas High student. The motive of the shooting remained under investigation, though authorities said the victim was intentionally targeted.
Police and other law enforcement, including Twin Rivers Unified School District police and Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies, responded to the campus and the nearby Natomas Village Apartments across the street, near San Juan Avenue. Units established a perimeter around both sites as emergency crews rushed to the school, and a helicopter and drones hovered overhead.
According to radio dispatches reviewed by The Sacramento Bee, the search for a suspect quickly focused on the apartment complex, with teams of officers scouring the area. Gamble said officers and crime scene investigators were expected to remain in the area for several hours.
Natomas Unified School District officials called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” but called it an isolated event. Officials said they would be helping “the student’s family, friends, and the entire Natomas High School community impacted by this devastating loss.”
“Natomas is a close-knit community, and when something like this happens, it affects us all,” the district said in a statement.
Dozens of people gathered outside the apartment complex, their numbers stretching along the campus lawn and into the street.
They included a trio of women crying out for the person sought by police to surrender.
“Put your hands up. Your mama’s right here. Come on out. Put your hands up,” one of the women pleaded as another woman sobbed beside her. “They’ve got guns everywhere. Come out, man.”
The district said it canceled a multicultural event scheduled for Saturday at Inderkum High School as it deployed psychologists and counselors to “to provide support to students, staff, and families during this incredibly difficult time.”
District officials said campuses would have “increased safety presence” in the school days ahead “as an added precaution and to help provide reassurance to our community.”
The Bee’s Daniel Hunt contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 4:33 PM.
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