Families Grieve At Candlelight Vigil For Victims Of Deadliest Mass Shooting In Sacramento History
SACRAMENTO (KPIX) -- High above 10th and J Streets in downtown Sacramento is a message that resonated Monday -- whether painted legally or not. The graffiti painted on the side of a building reads "End Gun Violence."
A block away at the intersection of 10th and K is where six people lost their lives in a hail of bullets early Sunday morning.
The mood in downtown Sacramento was one of stunned sadness on Monday. In recent years, the K Street Mall and the area around the Golden One Center has bloomed and flourished. Early Sunday, that reputation was shattered.
Tony Price lives five floors above where a night out turned into mass tragedy.
"I heard the gunshots going off and I looked out my window and I could basically see people running everywhere. They were diving under cars, just running down the street," Price told KPIX.
Johnny Thai was out on K Street Saturday night and lives two blocks away. He left 30 minutes before shouts and shoves turned to bullets and blood. He woke up to a flood of text messages hoping he survived.
"It could've been any of us. It could've been me. It could've been my friends. It could've been anybody you know. It happened to be six people I didn't know, but unfortunately six families woke up without a child or children woke up without a parent on a Sunday," Thai told KPIX.
Outside Bloem Decor Florist was a sign telling people to take a bouquet in memory of those lost. That's just what Sharon Padilla did.
"It's so sad. There's no words. There's barely comprehension of what took place here," said Padilla. "So we came down here on the bus and the light rail because it is important for us to be here to say our prayer, give it to God. That's all we can do."
At the State Capitol, life turned to business on a Monday, with state workers out on break and tour groups taking selfies in front of the seat of power in California. Just across the street, memorials of flowers and candles grew for those rendered powerless and voiceless by gun violence.
"Something has to be done," said Price.
Family members of victims continue to visit the crime scene. The memorials for the victims are growing.
Devazia Turner's mother couldn't hold back tears.
"You're taking lives away from families and their children," said Penelope Scott, the mother of one of the shooting victims, Devazia Turner.
Jackie Henderson stared in silence in front of lit candles for the six shooting victims. His cousin is no longer a part of his life.
"That's my family. My flesh and blood," said Jackie Henderson, whose cousin 38-year-old Sergio Harris died at the scene. "He was a good cousin and family man. That's how he will be remembered. That's who he was, and that's how he'll remain."
Harris was a father of three, whose own father remained behind police tape for nearly the entire day on Sunday, hoping to see his son.
"Whole bunch of shock. The shock doesn't go away overnight," said Mr. Harris.
"There's no reason and no rhyme. My cousin lost his life. Others lost their lives and it's a senseless act of violence. There's no call for it," said Henderson.
Devazia Turner's mother was joined by her family Monday afternoon as they visited the scene of Sunday's deadly shooting.
"You're taking lives away families, children, dads, you're hurting it. We don't deserve it," Penelope Scott told reporters near the intersection of K and 10th Streets. "I don't want them to do this to nobody else's kid."
Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi's mother said she found out about his death on social media.
"It broke my heart, I was saddened, I was hurt. That's my baby. My only baby. I can't replace him. He's irreplaceable. There is no more," Sherilyn Hoye said.
Turner's mother worries about the similarity in this shooting as she watches gun violence across the country.
"It happened here with my kid but it's happening everywhere," Scott said on Monday. "I understand that people are able to bear arms but people are bearing arms that aren't even supposed to."
The grieving Sacramento community found comfort in numbers during a vigil Monday night. A candle was lit in memory of each victim lost and community members gathered in hopes of uniting to fight the violence.
Echoing the same sentiments expressed by loved ones all day, victim's relatives at the vigil pleaded to stop the violence now.
Jackie Henderson, the cousin of victim Sergio Harris said, "So who's going to stop it. Because nobody bringing Sergio back."
Family members spoke out as elected officials and community advocates vowed to make a change.
"But they were here last time. They were here last time," said Henderson, still present after the long day. "I apologize. My cousin Sergio was gunned down. Come brother. Come brother. Excuse me."
Instead of words, the greiving here want action to make the community safer.
"The last time we had a mass shooting, we did the same thing," said Henderson. "Sat out here, held up our candles, talked about how the police are here. Our public officials are here for us now. How are they here for us when we're out here doing the same damn thing again?"
Community advocates also brought a voice to Melinda Davis, who was gunned down early Sunday morning. Davis was an unhoused woman living on the streets.
"She can't even sleep at night without being killed. That's one of scariest things," said one woman at the vigil.
"This change has to be made because if it is not made, I can be the next one dead, you can be the next one dead," said Henderson.