Man Killed At 'Erotic Exotic Halloween Ball' Identified As Terrance Long
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Seven people were shot at a party in Sacramento overnight. Two died on the scene.
Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the shooting outside of the Royal Castle Banquet Hall in the 5500 block of Palm Avenue where the Erotic Exotic Halloween Ball was underway. Witnesses estimate there 350-400 people in attendance.
When deputies arrived, they located three adult males suffering from at least one gunshot wound each, according to the sheriff's department.
Despite life-saving measures, two were pronounced dead on the scene and the third was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
One of those victims has been identified by friends and family members as Terrance Long.
"Terrance was here helping us set up. He is a nice guy, a very very nice guy, the funny, cool guy," said Missy Tolbert, who worked as a bartender at the event. "It's always the people who have nothing to do with any of the drama that have to suffer," she said.
His mother said in a statement Terrance was caught in the crossfire: "He was a very given person, that went out his way to help others, he was a people person. My family and I are devastated," explained Pamela Welch. "We are also praying for the other family who lost a loved one from this senseless killing...My son never did any harm to anybody. He didn't deserve to die like this."
An additional four people were shot, however, they were transported to local hospitals by private vehicles before deputies' arrival. They are all expected to
recover, say authorities. Authorities have not released any of the names of the victims.
No arrests have been made. The incident is still under investigation.
Witnesses of the shooting say that shots were fired inside, and it seemed that the gunshots last several agonizing minutes. They say they didn't hear fighting prior to shots being fired.
"The shooting just would never stop. It just kept going. And it was everywhere. When it stopped inside you could hear it outside. So, you didn't want to run outside. You just didn't feel safe," said Missy. "And everyone was
trying to hide everywhere. There's people holding the bathrooms doors closed because they're trying to hide. Everyone's trying to protect themselves."
The shooting is still under investigation tonight. There have been no arrests so far, and it's unclear how many shooters there were or what their motive was. We do know that there is video from a nearby business that investigators are going over thoroughly. They're hoping that will lead to some sort of answers to the motive and a suspect's description.
"When are we really going to start taking this serious?" community activist Berry Accuis said.
Berry is in communication with multiple witnesses and believes the shooting wasn't random.
"From what I'm gathering, a person was targeted...everything became a domino effect and now you are having bullets flying all over the place and people now trying to protect themselves," he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
The owner of the facility says he usually uses the space for weddings and private events and that this was the first time he rented the space out for an "open" event. He says he is in contact with the organizer, Triple Threat Entertainment Co.
Witnesses say they are upset with how long it took from when the first shots were fired for police to respond. They estimate that was 15 minutes. The Sheriff's Office says they responded three minutes after the first 911 call.
