A mass shooting at a family gathering inside a banquet hall in Stockton, California, left at least four people dead and 10 others wounded Saturday evening, officials said.
According to CNN, children and adults were among those shot, as per Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials did not immediately release the conditions of those taken to area hospitals.
“Early indications suggest this may have been a targeted incident. This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited,” Brent said at a news conference.
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. in the northern part of the city, according to the sheriff’s office.
The banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with several businesses, including a Dairy Queen, was hosting the family celebration, Brent said. Stockton is about 40 miles south of Sacramento.
The suspected shooter fled and remains at large, Brent said. Officials are urging the public for help with information as detectives work to determine a possible motive.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
The violence adds Stockton to a growing list of American communities whose everyday spaces, schools, shopping centers, bars and office buildings, have experienced gun violence. There have been at least 380 mass shootings in the US so far this year.
