SACRAMENTO — Just as they would be on any other weekend night, they were in downtown Sacramento to have a good time. But the hail of gunfire that occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday — as many bars and clubs were closing up for the night — killed six people and wounded 12 in the deadliest mass shooting in the state capital’s history and one of the worst to happen in Northern California.
Sacramento police said they were still trying to identify those responsible for the bloodshed, which started after a fight broke out near the area of 10th and K Streets, blocks away from the California State Capitol building. Three men and three women were killed in the onslaught that sent clubgoers scattering and transformed the block normally filled with nightlife into a site of blood and terror.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s office confirmed Monday the identities of the victims: 38-year-old North Highlands resident Sergio Harris, 21-year-old Elk Grove resident Johntaya Alexander, 57-year-old Melinda Davis, 32-year-old Salinas resident Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 21-year-old Selma resident Yamile Martinez-Andrade and 29-year-old Carmichael resident De’Vazia Turner.
A “related suspect” to the shooting, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, was arrested and booked on assault and illegal firearm possession charges, according to a Sacramento police news release. Police and detectives also served search warrants at three residences and recovered at least one handgun. The 12 people injured in the shooting were recovering from minor to critical gunshot wounds but were reported in stable condition on Monday.
More than 100 spent shell casings were found at the scene and at least three buildings and three vehicles had been struck by gunfire.
“It’s a lot to process,” said Leia Schenk, a community member helping the family of at least one of the men killed. “And there’s a lot of ‘whys,’ so you don’t even know what you’re even supposed to be processing.”
Here are the stories shared by the family of those who were slain.
Sergio Harris
The 38-year-old father of three went downtown Saturday night to a bar, but Harris wasn’t normally a “party animal,” according to his aunt Mary Fair.
“He didn’t say too much, but his demeanor said a lot. Just his presence,” she said. “He was very fashionable — you see a guy with long dreads, always smelling good, with brand new shoes. He’s just a regular type of guy.”
In his free time, Harris loved sports and weightlifting. Every Thanksgiving, Harris, who hailed from the Del Paso Heights neighborhood, participated in Del Paso Heights’ game of tackle football between the “O.G.s” — or “Old Guys” — and the “Youngsters.”
“It’s gonna be a shame we’re gonna get up there this year and we don’t see him there,” said Fair. “It isn’t gonna be right this year. He played so much that he became the O.G.”
Harris’ mother, Pamela, was at the scene after the shooting and learned that her son had been killed.
“My baby is gone,” she said, gazing over yellow crime scene tape at the scene.
Harris loved spending time with his family, who Fair said had gotten so large that they had their own church in Sacramento, called New Bethel. Harris was self-employed and was working towards his goal of starting businesses of his own.
“He had a legacy. He wasn’t just an ordinary person,” Fair said. “He had dreams and he had goals and he was achieving them, too.”
Johntaya Alexander
Alexander was attending a club event downtown when the shooting happened, according to her cousin Rashea Allen. By the time she was 21, Alexander was attending school, working and had her own business as a cosmetologist styling lace-front wigs for clients. She had her own apartment and was “very well-established” for her age.
“She had a lot of milestones that most of women her age didn’t get to do,” Allen said.
Alexander was the youngest of two sisters and one brother and had a big family.
“She was very loved by her family,” said Allen. “She was very popular in terms of doing hair. She was raised in the area where she was close-knit with her family and her friends. She’s the type of person where she glows up the whole room and everybody was going have a good time. She did everything she was supposed to do as a young woman.”
De’Vazia Turner
Turner, a manager at Wing Stop, could often be found playing basketball and detailing cars, according to friends and family.
A father of four, he began Saturday night at his mother’s house — enjoying dinner and taking a shower before going out to a birthday party at a club, said his mother, Penelope Scott. It was the last time she ever saw him alive.
“People should have the freedom to have fun without this craziness,” Scott said.
On Monday, Scott walked slowly down 10th Street, clutching onto the hands of family members as she stopped at a memorial for those slain. Family members brought bouquets of flowers and posters with photos of him and his children.
“This hurts. You’re taking lives from families,” Scott said, speaking to the perpetrators. “Why can’t people just go out and have fun?”
Melinda Davis
Davis, 57, had lived homeless on the streets of downtown Sacramento for years, and died when caught in the gunfire that erupted early Sunday morning according to friends and a nonprofit that had provided services to her.
Sacramento Loaves & Fishes said Davis had visited the organization on and off for “some time,” seeking “respite from the trauma of living on the streets of our city,” according to a statement from the organization.
On Monday, the nonprofit grieved her death and offered help to others needing support after Sunday’s shooting.
“Together we mourn the loss of her life along with 5 others and hold on to hope that those injured recover quickly,” the nonprofit said.
Our hearts break with our community as we all learn to move forward from such a tragedy.
Media Inquiries:
Angela Hassell, Executive Director angela@sacloaves.org or
Shannon Dominguez-Stevens, Maryhouse Director shannon@sacloaves.org pic.twitter.com/kYYFhH9xGc— Sacramento Loaves & Fishes (@loavesandfishes) April 4, 2022