Four people have been confirmed dead and 10 others injured after a gunman opened fire at a family event in California, United States, on Saturday evening.
The shooting occurred inside a banquet hall in Stockton, northeast of San Francisco, shortly before 6 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Heather Brent.
Brent told reporters that the victims, whose ages range from juveniles to adults, were taken to different hospitals for treatment, adding that investigations into the incident were still at an early stage.
“What we have confirmed at this time is that a family was celebrating inside a banquet hall. We have 14 victims of this shooting, and four of those are deceased,” she said.
She explained that preliminary findings indicated the attack might have been targeted, though detectives were “exploring all possibilities.”
In a statement posted on its social media platform, the sheriff’s office said investigators were working to establish what led to the shooting.
“We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the statement added.
No arrest had been made as of the time of filing this report.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom said he had been briefed on the situation.
Data from the Gun Violence Archive indicates that the Stockton attack has raised the number of mass shootings recorded in the United States this year to 504. The organisation defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot.
The violence came just a day after another shooting in San Jose that left three people injured, though authorities say there is no immediate indication that the incidents are linked.
Local leaders have renewed calls for tighter gun controls, warning that shootings at community gatherings have increasingly become a pattern across California and the United States.
