Two more people were arrested Tuesday in connection with the mass shooting that killed six people in Sacramento, Calif., on Sunday.
One of the men posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Smiley Martin, 27, who is the brother of the first suspect taken into custody — 26-year-old Dandrae Martin — was arrested while hospitalized with serious injuries from the gunfire in California's capital. He will face charges of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.
Sacramento police also announced the arrest of another man, Daviyonne Dawson, 31, on charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Dawson was charged late Monday after police received reports of a man seen carrying a gun in the shooting's aftermath.
'Little regard for human life'
A year ago, prosecutors implored the state parole board not to release Smiley Martin early from a 10-year sentence, noting his prior convictions for possessing an assault weapon, stealing electronics from department stores and beating a girlfriend he encouraged to be a prostitute.
"Martin's criminal conduct is violent and lengthy," a Sacramento prosecutor wrote in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. "Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law."
Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the Facebook video was used in the shooting, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but could not discuss details publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Investigators believe the brothers possessed stolen guns and are working to review financial documents, call records and social media messages to determine how and when they procured weapons, the official said. Authorities have searched several locations connected with the shooting and the firearms investigation.
More than 100 shots were fired early Sunday near the state Capitol, creating a chaotic scene with hundreds of people trying desperately to get to safety. Smiley Martin was among the 12 people wounded; he was found at the crime scene and taken to a hospital, according to police.
"Smiley Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues," the statement said.
He will be booked when his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, a police statement said.
A stolen handgun found at the crime scene had been converted to a weapon capable of automatic gunfire. Detectives and SWAT team members also found a handgun during searches of three area homes.
The shooting happened at about 2 a.m. local time Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets — killing three women and three men.
The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De'vazia Turner, 29.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil Monday evening attended by grieving relatives, friends and community members.
"We gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world," Steinberg said.
Turner, who had three daughters and a son, was a "protector" who worked as the night manager at an inventory company, his mother, Penelope Scott, told The Associated Press. He rarely went out, and she had no reason to believe he would be in harm's way when he left her house after he visited Saturday night.
"My son was walking down the street and somebody started shooting, and he got shot. Why is that to happen?" Scott said. "I feel like I've got a hole in my heart."
Police were investigating whether the shooting was connected with a street fight that broke out just before gunfire erupted. Several people could be seen in videos scrapping on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.
Investigation continues
Dandrae Martin, who was held without bail, was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over one and a half 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. Court records show he pleaded guilty to punching, kicking and choking a woman in a hotel room when she refused to work for him as a prostitute.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether the Martins had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
Four of those wounded suffered critical injuries, the Sacramento Fire Department has said. At least seven of the victims had been released from hospitals by Monday and two patients were still hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center on Tuesday, according to spokesperson Tricia Tomiyoshi. She did not disclose their conditions.
Politicians decried the shooting, and some Democrats, including President Joe Biden, called for tougher action against gun violence.
California has some of the nation's toughest restrictions on firearms, requiring background checks to buy guns and ammunition, limiting magazines to 10 bullets, and banning firearms that fall into its definition of assault weapons.
But state lawmakers plan to go further. A bill getting its first hearing Tuesday would allow citizens to sue those who possess illegal weapons, a measure patterned after a controversial Texas bill aimed at abortions.
