California police arrest second suspect in Sacramento shooting
2022.04.05 17:46
FILE PHOTO: Police are seen after an early-morning shooting in a stretch of the downtown near the Golden 1 Center arena in Sacramento, California, U.S. April 3, 2022. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File Photo
(Reuters) – A 27-year-old man who was seriously injured in a shooting in Sacramento that left six people dead over the weekend was arrested on Tuesday for illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun, police said.
Police in California’s capital city took Smiley Martin into custody at a local hospital where he is being treated for wounds, the Sacramento Police Department said in a statement. Authorities will book the suspect after doctors determine that he is fit for incarceration.
Martin is the brother of Dandre Martin, 26, who was taken into custody on Sunday as a “related suspect” in the case, police said. Dandre Martin was booked on suspicion of assault and illegal possession of a firearm.
Police did not elaborate on the men’s alleged roles in the shooting or say if they were still searching for additional suspects. Police Chief Kathy Lester has said that “multiple” shooters were involved in the massacre that killed six people and injured 12 others.
The gunfire erupted at about 2 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) on Sunday near the Golden 1 Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings. The team held a moment of silence before its Sunday night game against the Golden State Warriors.
Police have said that the massacre followed an altercation and asked for the public’s help in obtaining videos of that incident that had been posted on social media. The Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that the suspects had been at a nearby nightclub earlier in the evening.
Of the 12 victims who survived, police said they were “suffering from gunshot wounds ranging from minor to critical but stable.”
Investigators said they found more than 100 spent shell casings at the scene and that one handgun had been recovered following the execution of search warrants.
The violence took place in an area recently revitalized as an entertainment center and just hours after rapper Tyler the Creator had performed at the Golden 1 Center.
The shooting shattered a welcoming atmosphere in California’s state capitol as political leaders ease strict COVID-19 orders and bars and restaurants began filling with people long isolated by the pandemic.
