Police have vowed to “hunt down” the “animals” behind a mass shooting at a children’s birthday party in California.
Three children and a 21-year-old died in Saturday’s shooting at a banquet hall, with 11 more injured.
“We all know that there are people out there [who] are violent and commit violent crimes,” said Patrick Withrow, sheriff of San Joaquin County.
“But these animals walked in and shot children at a children’s birthday party.”
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Officers were called to the banquet hall in Stockton just before 6pm local time (2am UK time).
Around 100-150 people had gathered to celebrate a child’s birthday.
The sheriff told reporters he had been at a Thanksgiving celebration in Oregon during the incident but “put down my grandbabies to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else’s babies away from them”.
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He appealed for the public to send in “any little bit” of information that could lead to the arrest of the gunmen.
“If you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know.”
There is currently nobody in custody over the incident.
Although the investigation is still under way, Sheriff Withrow said there appeared to have been “multiple shooters” who began the attack indoors and then moved outside.
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The shooting was “not a random act”, he said. “They walked into this area and were probably looking for somebody in particular.”
He confirmed that guns had been found on the roof of a nearby building but it was too early to say whether they were “related to this crime”.
Police have also towed multiple cars in the area, some damaged with bullet holes, in case they can be used as evidence.
“Please continue to give us more information,” he said, “and we will follow every single lead.”
A vigil was held for the victims on Sunday, according to local media, with the entire local council in attendance.
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On Saturday, Stockton mayor Christina Fugazi said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
