California: Sacramento police says shooting leaves at least 6 dead, 9 injured
A video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background.
At least six people were killed and nine were injured in an early-morning shooting in Sacramento, California, the city's police department said on Twitter. The shooting occurred at about 2 am PT (0900 GMT) in a stretch of downtown near the Golden 1 Center, an arena where the Sacramento Kings basketball team plays and major concerts take place, the local ABC News affiliate reported.
Police said several blocks were closed while they investigate, but released no details on the ages or identities of the victims. Videos posted online showed people shouting and running in the street.
The shooting happened on the same day as the funeral for 25-year-old Virginian-Pilot reporter Sierra Jenkins, who was one of two people killed less than two blocks from the shopping centre on March 19.
It is the latest mass casualty shooting in the United States, where firearms are used in approximately 40,000 deaths a year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
Lax gun laws and the right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation, despite greater controls being favoured by the majority of Americans.
Three-quarters of all homicides in the US are committed with guns, and the number of pistols, revolvers and other firearms sold continues to rise.
More than 23 million guns were sold in 2020 -- a record -- and another 20 million in 2021, according to data compiled by thewebsite Small Arms Analytics.
That number does not include "ghost" guns, which are sold disassembled, lack serial numbers, and are highly prized in criminal circles.
In June 2021, 30 per cent of American adults said they owned at least one gun, according to a Pew survey.
The incident comes a little more than a month after a man shot and killed his three children and a fourth person before taking his own life in the same city.
Hours ago, a man was killed and two women were wounded in a shooting at a Virginia mall on Saturday evening.
Norfolk police were called to MacArthur Center around 6.25 pm, the department said in a news release. The women, who were shot in their ankles, were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren't believed to be life-threatening. Police Chief Larry Boone told news outlets that the shooting was prompted by an argument over money and that he believed the male victim and the suspect were related. Boone said he didn't know if the two women had any relationship with the shooter or the man who was killed.
(With inputs from agencies)