4 dead, including 3 kids, after shooting at California birthday party

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REUTERS/FRED GREAVES / NOV. 29

A police officer stands at the scene after several people were shot at a family gathering in Stockton, Calif.

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REUTERS/FRED GREAVES / NOV. 29

Members of the police walk at the scene after several people were shot at a family gathering in Stockton, Calif.

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4 dead, including 3 kids, after shooting at California banquet hall

A shooting Saturday night at a children’s birthday party in California’s Central Valley left four people dead and 11 others injured, the local sheriff’s office said.

About 15 people were shot near a shopping plaza in Stockton, California, Heather Brent of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

Three children, ages 8, 9, and 14, were killed, along with a 21-year-old, Brent said. She did not give further details about them.

Several gunshot victims were transported to hospitals in the area. A spokesperson for Sutter Health Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, about 35 miles from the shooting scene, said there were three injured adults from the shooting in the hospital’s care.

The victims were believed to have been attending the party at a catering hall when the shooting occurred, Brent said.

San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow told reporters Sunday afternoon that while detectives were still processing evidence collected at the scene, multiple shooters may have been involved. He said no suspect was in custody.

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Withrow said that the shooting was targeted. “We’re confident that this was not a random act.”

A local faith group announced that it would hold a prayer vigil near the site of the shooting around 3 p.m. Sunday.

The office of Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on social media that his Office of Emergency Services was monitoring the situation in Stockton and coordinating with local law enforcement.

Ron Freitas, the district attorney for San Joaquin County, said Saturday night that the Stockton Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and other agencies were assisting the sheriff’s office with the investigation.

Stockton, a city of about 320,000, is about 50 miles south of the state capital, Sacramento, and roughly 100 miles northeast of San Francisco.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2025 The New York Times Company

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