Officials in Sacramento County are probing a shooting that erupted on April 18 2026 at Howe Community Park in the Arden-Arcade area as officers were shutting down an unlawful assembly of multiple hundreds of people.
How It Started
Officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office were first called to the park on Howe Avenue at approximately half past six in the evening after learning of individuals possibly carrying concealed weapons. After that, a second caller reported concerning a potential altercation taking place near the park.
Air support flew over the park but could not confirm any ongoing fight. Despite this, authorities discovered that a massive group had packed into the park without any permit or approval.
When the Shots Rang Out
Deputies worked to disperse the crowd by positioning themselves around the crowd and using their vehicle PA systems commanding the crowd to vacate unauthorized gathering shooting Sacramento the area. Around 15 minutes were spent for the gathering to break up.
As the crowd was being cleared that 20 to 25 gunshots rang out. The barrage of gunfire sent the crowd running in all directions. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies quickly moved to searching for victims.
Four Gunshot Victims
Altogether, four shooting victims were identified as having gunshot wounds. Those injured — including a female and three males ranging in age through their in their 20s at the time of the incident — were airlifted or driven to nearby hospitals. Emergency physicians reported that two had critical injury classifications, one had moderate injuries, and one had injuries classified as minor. Thankfully, each of the four victims was stable.
Sacramento Metro Fire were called to the scene and aided in treating the four victims at the scene.
What Investigators Found
Most of the gunfire was determined to have occurred near Cottage Way near the Home Depot store at the 2200 Howe Avenue block. Law enforcement investigators recovered additional shell casings on Cottage Way. Round impacts were also found in the iron fence adjacent to the nearby Home Depot. These findings pointed to that a shooter had been shooting in a southerly direction from the Cottage Way area targeting the Home Depot building and parking lot. That Home Depot location was secured under a brief lockdown while the scene was active. CSI investigators and detectives stayed at the location late into the evening.
Detainees in Solano County
Information obtained over police scanner frequencies confirmed that a vehicle identified as a Kia had been detained in the Solano County area. Four detainees were held for questioning. Law enforcement units were dispatched to Solano County to transport the detainees for formal questioning. Footage analyzed by investigators confirmed that there were two gunmen.