SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Sacramento Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Arden Fair Mall around 6:10 p.m. Friday. When officers arrived, they found two victims with gunshot wounds. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene and a second was transported to hospital and pronounced dead hours later.
The shooting occurred inside the mall where there were “a lot of people” said SPD spokesman Karl Chan. “Based on the preliminary investigation detectives believe this shooting is an isolated incident and not the result of an active shooter,” Chan said, adding, “We do know that the mall does have a pretty robust surveillance footage so that’s going to be something that our homicide detectives are going to be definitely looking at.”
Police don’t have a good description of the gunman, who was only described as a man in his twenties. Chan offered the following statement regarding the shooter, “We…are doing everything that we can to identify the suspect or suspects who are involved in this incident and make an arrest in this.” As of now, the motive for the shooting is unknown, and investigators are processing evidence and asking for any potential witnesses to come forward.
The mall was closed for the remainder of Friday evening following the incident, but reopened at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, releasing the following statement. “This is an active investigation and Arden Fair continues to work closely with all law enforcement agencies involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that occurred Friday evening and our prayers and condolences are with the families of the victims.”
In a statement from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, authorities planned to the identities of the dead after their next of kin had been notified; however, family members have identified them as brothers, 19-year-old Dewayne Reed and 17-year-old Sa’Quan Reed.
The Reed family, who had four sons, had moved to Sacramento from Louisiana 18 months ago to remove them from a violent environment of drugs, guns and gangs. They held a press conference and vigil at the mall at 6 p.m. Saturday evening.
Those who spoke on behalf of the family called for everyone in the community to take a stand against the violence and for anyone with information to come forward.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg took to Twitter to express his thoughts. “We are deeply concerned by the increase in gun violence in Sacramento and other cities during the pandemic and have supported increasing our efforts to reach young people at risk. A gun is never the answer.”
