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Four people were killed and 10 others were hospitalized in connection with a shooting at a children's birthday party in Stockton, California, Saturday (November 29) night, authorities confirmed via NBC News.
Gunfire was reported at a banquet hall just prior to 6:00 p.m. local time, according to San Joaquin County Sheriff's spokesperson Heather Brent, who characterized the event taking place at the time as a family celebration, which Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee specified was a children's birthday party in a statement shared on his Facebook account.
"As Vice Mayor of Stockton — and as someone who grew up in this community — I am devastated and angry to learn about the mass shooting at a child’s birthday party," Lee wrote. "A birthday party should never be a place where families fear for their lives."
Brent confirmed that some of the victims were "young children."
"It's unfathomable that there were young children that were harmed," she said via NBC News.
The exact conditions, ages and genders weren't immediately made public and investigators were continuing to work on identifying the suspect as of Sunday (November 30) morning, a Stockton County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said.
"This may be a targeted incident," Brent said. "Our No. 1 priority right now is identifying the suspect in this incident."
It's undetermined whether the gunfire began inside or outside hall, according to Brent, who confirmed that the FBI, Stockton police and other law enforcement agencies were all reported to be working on the investigation. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office confirmed that he had been briefed on the shooting as of Saturday night and was working with law enforcement while monitoring the situation in a post shared on X.