Children were among those reported dead after a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party on Saturday, according to local officials

Four people were killed and 10 wounded at the event in Stockton, California, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared on X, in what a spokesperson said might have been a “targeted incident.”

The deadly incident in California comes amid concerns over gun violence and mass shootings in the United States, and tensions in the country are continuing to run high.
California has some of the strictest firearm laws in the country. These have at times, been challenged, with a federal judge overturning the state’s ban on assault weapons, like the AR-15 rifle.

The shooting took place just before 6 p.m. inside a banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with several nearby businesses near the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue. Stockton is a city of roughly 320,000 residents, located about 40 miles south of Sacramento.

The suspected shooter remained at large as of Sunday morning, and local officials urged anyone with information to come forward. Detectives were still working to determine a motive.

“If you have any information as to this individual, reach out immediately. If you are this individual, turn yourself in immediately,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said.

“It absolutely breaks out heart to have loss of life, and to have loss of life to children,” he told reporters.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the shooting as state officials monitor the situation, according to a statement on X from his press office.