Three dead, five injured in shooting at house party
Attack was reported late Sunday at a gathering on Dunn Avenue
RICHMOND >> Three men were killed and five other people were injured when gunmen opened fire at a house party in Richmond on Sunday night, sending scores of people fleeing for their lives or desperately trying to shuttle some of the wounded to the hospital, according to police and witnesses.
Two of the victims died at the scene, and another died a short time later at a local hospital. Of the surviving victims, one was listed in critical condition, one was listed in fair condition and three had since been released, as of Monday morning. All of the people who
were shot were described as men between the ages of 18 and 44.
It marked the seconddeadliest shooting in the Bay Area this year, topped only by the May 26 mass shooting at a
Valley Transportation Authority railyard in San Jose that killed nine people before the gunman, a VTA employee, fatally shot himself.
Sunday’s shooting was
reported around 10:55 p.m. at a home in the 2100 block of Dunn Avenue, west of 23rd Street in the northern portion of the city. Police said responding officers arrived to a chaotic scene of people running from the house and cars taking off, some of them to take injured victims to safety or medical care.
Richmond police Sgt. Aaron Pomeroy said police were looking for at least two shooters, but it was still being determined Monday whether the gunmen had attended the party at any point. A motive for the attack was under investigation. No arrests or suspect information were announced by police.
East Bay leaders quickly denounced the devastation wrought by the shooting, and called attention to high-profile gun violence that has routinely surfaced across the country. The shooting took place about 30 hours after one person was killed and another seven injured in a shooting at Oakland’s Lake Merritt as thousands celebrated the Juneteenth holiday.
“Yet again, we grieve with the families of the victims of a senseless mass shooting, this time in Richmond right here in Contra Costa County,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier said in a statement. “I express my deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, and community members affected by this tragedy and thank the first responders who have been assisting. As information about this horrific event come to light, we must do everything in our power to put reforms in place to stop future tragedies and save lives.”
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, whose district encompasses Richmond, offered similar thoughts.
“This was supposed to be a celebratory event — instead, families were ripped apart by gun violence,” Wicks said. “I’m heartbroken and outraged to learn of this devastation in our Richmond community, and offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this senseless act.”
Dozens of people were present when the shooting occurred. Between 80 and 100 people were there at the event’s peak.
A man who said his uncle was one of the people killed told television station ABC7 that the house was hosting a party with live music when the shooting occurred. None of the men who died had been formally identified by the Contra Costa County coroner’s office as of Monday afternoon.
Police have said the party, which was held throughout the day, appears to have been part of a celebration related to the Guatemalan town of San Juan Atitán. Pomeroy added that the party had been promoted on Facebook, likely accounting for the large attendance at the single-family home.
On Monday morning, the crime scene was quiet, with plastic folding chairs strewn across the home’s driveway and beer cans, some loose and some collected among about a dozen boxes in the front yard, visible from the street. A portable toilet also stood in the driveway behind a waisthigh gated fence separating the driveway from the sidewalk.
Alongside the curb, blood-stained gauze lay on the street, a grim reminder of the previous night’s deadly turn.