Police arrested a second suspect Tuesday in connection with the chaotic shooting in downtown Sacramento that left six dead over the weekend.
Smiley Martin, 27, was one of the twelve people found injured at the scene and was “quickly identified as a person of interest,” the Sacramento Police Department said in a statement. Martin was taken into custody Tuesday and will be transported to jail on charges of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.
Dandrae Martin, who police identified as Smiley Martin’s brother, was arrested Monday and faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and illegal firearms possession. dandrae Martin is scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday, according to jail records.
SUSPECTED ARRESTED:6 killed in Sacramento shooting rampage; community holds vigil for victims
The second arrest comes after the community held a candlelit vigil Monday, where Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read the names of the six people who were killed in the shooting. More than 100 rounds were fired around 2 am Sunday outside the city’s entertainment district as bar patrons filled the streets after a large fight broke out.
Investigators are combing through hundreds of pieces of evidence and examining more than 170 videos and photos of the scene shared through an online portal created for the public, police said. Neither suspect has been charged with homicide, and Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in a statement Monday that she is expecting more arrests in the case.
“The investigation is highly complex involving many witnesses, videos of numerous types and significant physical evidence,” Schubert said in a statement.
Here’s what we know Tuesday:
Who were the victims?
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office identified the three men and three women killed in the mass shooting Monday as: Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.
Twelve people were injured and at least four suffered critical injuries, according to the Sacramento Fire Department. At least seven of the wounded were released from hospitals Monday.
De’vazia Turner’s father, Frank, told the Sacramento Bee that his son had gone to the London nightclub and was with his cousin, Sergio Harris, when the shooting broke out. Both were killed.
“He was out just having fun with his friends,” Frank Turner told Fox40. “There’s just nothing to say. I’m just here. I’m grief, that’s all – grief.”
Kay Harris, Sergio’s sister, told The Associated Press she thought her brother had been at the London.
“My son was a very vivacious young man,” his mother, Pamela, told KCRA 3.
Alexander was a doting aunt who wanted to work with children as a social worker.
“She was just beginning her life,” her father, John Alexander, told the Los Angeles Times, sobbing. “Stop all this senseless shooting.”
Teresa Andrade told Fox26 her daughter loved music and had traveled to Sacramento for a Tyler the Creator concert.
A small bouquet of purple roses at the site of the shooting was dedicated to Davis, who lived on the streets for years according to the Bee.
Hoye-Lucchesi was a dedicated father of six, Nana Turner, the mother of his two oldest children, told the Bee.
“His kids was his whole entire heart, and he’s really going to be truly missed, by his kids, and myself, and his mother, and a lot of friends,” Turner told the outlet.
Authorities searching for multiple suspects
Investigators found a stolen handgun which police said in a statement was modified into an automatic weapon.
Lester did not say what kind of gun was used in the shooting. Officials did not know whether the victims were targeted, she said.
Detectives and SWAT team members found one handgun during searches of three homes in the area, police said after arresting the first suspect.
Dandrae Martin was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over 1 1/2 years for violating probation in separate cases involving a felony conviction for aggravated assault in 2016 and a conviction on a marijuana charge in 2018.
FROM SUNDAY:Police seek multiple suspects after shooting killed 6, injured 12 in downtown Sacramento
He was also wanted on a misdemeanor warrant by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in Southern California. The Sheriff’s Department said the charges stemmed from a 2015 arrest by the Blythe Police Department but no other information was immediately available.
Lester told KCRA, the local NBC affiliate, investigators are still working to determine what Martin’s role was in the shooting. Police said the district attorney is reviewing evidence to determine appropriate charges for the suspects and they may face additional charges as the process continues.
What happened during the shooting?
Lester said a large fight broke out right before the shooting. Videos showed people fighting on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.
Asa Pickett, who was at the Dive Bar on Saturday, told The Record, part of the USA TODAY Network, I have heard about 100 rounds. He and his friends of him saw people running into each other, and his group of him found an area in a nearby alley where they hid for about 45 minutes.
“We came out, and there were bodies on the ground,” he said.
Sacramento community holds vigil for shooting victims
Members of the Sacramento community gathered downtown Monday evening to mourn the victims of Sunday’s deadly shooting.
Monday morning, community members lined the sidewalk with a makeshift memorial of candles, flowers, and stuffed animals, the Bee reported. Later that day, the city’s mayor, Darrell Steinberg, read the names of the six victims at the vigil.
“We gather today to mourn their senseless deaths,” he said. “And we gather for their loved ones, who are represented tonight,” motioning to a line of people standing behind him holding flowers, candles, and photos of the victims.
Jackie Henderson, a cousin of Sergio Harris, who was killed in the shooting, called for action by public officials during the vigil.
“How many times are we going to sit back and talk about the next time?” I have asked the crowd. “A change has to start. When the hell are we going to let it start?”
Contributing: Angelaydet Rocha, The Record; Associated Press
Contact Breaking News Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism