Sacramento, California (AP) – Father of four. A best friend with a positive personality. A lively partygoer. The six people who were killed during a mass shooting in the California capital were remembered by their friends and family on Monday as police worked to gather what happened.
Dozens of quick-fire shots were fired on a crowded street in Sacramento early Sunday morning, killing three women and three men and injuring 12 others.
Investigators are looking for at least two shooters who were responsible for the violence on the outskirts of the city’s main entertainment district that occurred during the closing of bars and nightclubs. On Monday morning, a small memorial with candles, balloons and flowers was set up near the crime scene.
Investigators have combed the details with evidence gathered from what police chief Kathy Lester described as a “complex crime scene”. Witnesses submitted more than 100 videos and photos taken during and shortly after the shooting.
The Sacramento County Coroner has identified six of the dead. They are Janataya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamil Martinez-Android, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; And Divajia Turner, 29.
De’Vajia Turner had four young children, including a 3-year-old girl named Penelope who had sticky fingers. But his bright yellow Mercedes CLS was always clear.
Born and raised in Sacramento, Turner played football from a young age until a knee injury slowed him down. He worked as a manager for an inventory company, keeping a close eye on things his mother might like and letting her know when they would be sold.
“He was a keeper,” said his mother, Penelope Scott. “Raising her as a single mother, you know, she played the role of a housewife. He takes care of everything. “
She works five days a week with her father, Frank Turner. When they weren’t pumping iron, they were probably talking about cars. They both had old books – Turner was 1973 and her father was 1970 – and Turner had big plans for her. He had just ordered a new stereo and a steering wheel with a cherry finish.
Frank Turner said he plans to finish his son’s car, including a painting to include a picture of Devajia’s face for his kids to see.
“I want them to see that car and see their father,” said Frank Turner.
Devajia went to see her mother on Saturday, ate the remaining pork chops and took a short bath on her sofa before falling asleep. When he woke up, he said he was going out – a rare thing for him, because he does a lot of work, Scott said.
Scott woke up around 1 a.m. and couldn’t sleep. She was looking at the phone when she received a call that her son had been killed.
“Your children are supposed to bury you. You’re not supposed to do that, “he said. “I am grateful that he has a legacy with his children. However, you know, his age is 29. He did not reach 30. “
Frank Turner last saw his son at the auto shop where they were working on their car. After her son’s death, a friend called Frank Turner and told him that the store’s security camera had taken away their conversation.
She watched the video – a father and son spending time together on something they loved – and she cried.
Alexander was embarrassed at the age of 22 when he was killed, his father told the Los Angeles Times. It was his birthday at the end of the month.
John Alexander told the newspaper he hoped to be a social worker who worked with the children and had an aunt with his niece and nephew.
Her daughter’s name was a combination of her own and her older sister’s, she told the Times.
“He had just started his life,” she told the newspaper in tears. “Stop all this stupid shooting.”
The Sacramento B reports that Davis was a “very sexy lady” who lived on the streets of Sacramento near the shooting site.
Shawn Peter, a guide to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership who has known Davis for 15 years, told the newspaper he was homeless and had been living in the area for a decade.
Officials helped him find housing before the epidemic began, but in recent months he has returned to the suburban business district, Peter said. A small bouquet of purple roses with a note reading “Melinda Rest in Peace” was left on the street in her memory.
“Melinda was a very bizarre person, a very sexy woman,” she told the newspaper. “It was his world, 24/7.”
Davis was a periodic guest at Maryhouse from 2016 to 2018, a daytime center for homeless women and children, director Shannon Stevens told the Associated Press in an email. Stevens remembered him kindly but one who did not do well in the crowd. He was looking for housing services at the time.
“This is where he came from to get rid of the trauma of living on our city streets,” the Sacramento Loves and Fishes, which runs the Maryhouse program, said in a statement.
Described as party life by family members, Harris had frequent appearances at London nightclubs near the shooting scene.
“My son was a very lively young man,” his mother, Pamela Harris, told KCRA-TV. “It’s fun to be around, I like to party, I always smile. Don’t bother people. Crazy for this to happen. I’m at the point right now, I don’t know what to do. I don’t even feel like this real. I think it’s a dream. “
Her family members gathered at the crime scene on Sunday when they could not hear from her for hours. Later that day, Harris was the first victim to be publicly identified by Corona.
His wife, Leticia Harris, told KCRA-TV: “This is a tragic and horrific act of violence that has claimed many lives.” “I want answers so I can stop for my kids.”
Martinez-Andrad was killed in front of his best friend, According to KXTV-TV.
He was described as someone who “brought light into the room,” the station said, and had a positive outlook.
“She has never had a dull moment. She has a beautiful heart and a beautiful mind. Everyone misses her so much,” her best friend, whose name has not been released, told KXTV-TV.
A block was left in honor of Joshua Hoye-lucci from a commemorative shooting with white and blue balloons, candles and two empty bottles of Hennessy. On the ground, someone wrote “Josh” which looks like blue.
“I love you and feel your emptiness. For my heart! Someone wrote on a star-shaped white balloon in black marker.” Things will never be the same, “read another balloon.
This story has been updated with the correct spelling of De’vazia Turner. It is Devjia, not Devjia.
