Stockton Reeling After Deadly Wave Of Street Violence; 6 Homicides in 8 Days
STOCKTON (CBS SF/BCN) -- A wave of deadly street violence has swept over Stockton in the last eight days, resulting in six homicides and leaving the community stunned and on edge.
Stockton police said the latest slaying was on Saturday night near California and Worth streets where a 22-year-old man was found shot and declared dead at the scene at 8:35 p.m.
"Over the last several days, we have experienced an increase in homicides in our city which is unacceptable," the Stockton police department said on a Facebook post.
In 2021, the total number of homicides in Stockton was 39, according to the police department's crime comparison report.
The string of homicides began on Feb. 11 in the 8000 block of N. El Dorado Street when a 31-year-old Stockton Unified School District employee, identified as Mark Scott, was killed.
District spokesperson Melinda Meza said Scott was a paraprofessional at Pulliam Elementary School where he assisted with special education students. He was also the assistant baseball coach for Edison High School.
An 18-year-old man has been the youngest person among the six victims.
"For our community, it is important to share that our detectives have been working tirelessly on these cases and believe that none of the homicides are related to each other," the Stockton police department said.
At the time of each shooting, not all of the victims' names were released by police. There was also no suspect information or motive information released.
Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln said the city will concentrate on multi-agency partnerships and plans to deploy additional police officers throughout the city while continuing outreach efforts.
"Stockton, if you see something, say something," Lincoln said.
The shooting deaths have included:
- Feb 11: 31-year-old, 1:29 p.m., 8000 block of N. El Dorado Street
- Feb 11: 18-year-old, 11:49 p.m., 5200 Block of Cosumnes Drive
- Feb 14: 35-year-old, 8:38 p.m., 8100 Block of Chateau Drive, Valley Oak District
- Feb 15: 19-year-old, 8:03 p.m., 1700 block of West Fremont Street
- Feb 17: 21-year-old, 5:22 p.m., 4700 block of Greensboro Way
- Feb 19: 22-year-old 8:35 p.m., California Street and Worth Street
Lincoln encouraged residents to contact the Stockton police department's non-emergency number at (209) 937-8377 or the Investigations Division at (209) 937-8323.
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