April 6 (UPI) — Police in Sacramento said Wednesday that the shooting that left six people dead and 12 injured over the weekend was a gun battle between gang members.
The Sacramento Police Department said in a statement that at least five shooters fired guns during the exchange of fire between at least two groups of men, noting that the number of suspects may continue to grow.
“As detectives learn more about the shootings, it is increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy,” the Police Department said.
“While we cannot at this time elaborate on the precise gang affiliation individuals involved, gangs and gang violence are inseparable from the events that drove these shootings.”
Police have arrested three suspects: 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, his brother, 27-year-old Smiley Martin, who was among those injured in the shooting, and a third unidentified person.
Dandrae Martin faces assault and illegal firearm charges, and police said during a news conference Wednesday they believe he fired a weapon during the shooting.
Smiley Martin faces charges of possessing a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, which police said was a handgun converted to be capable of firing as an automatic weapon.
“They’re very, very dangerous,” police spokesman Sgt. Zach Eaton told The Sacramento Bee. “They’re configured to shoot a lot of rounds in a very, very short amount of time.”
The third suspect also was charged with being a “prohibited person in possession of a firearm,” and is not believed to have fired the weapon.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether shooters were among the victims.
“We haven’t ruled that out and we haven’t ruled that in,” Eaton said.
Court documents refer to Sergio Harris, 38, who was killed in the shooting, as a member of the Del Paso Heights Bloods, while Salinas police identified Josh Hoye-Lucchesi, another victim, as a member of the Crips.
