Investigators plead for tips after 3 children, 1 adult killed in shooting at child's birthday party

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California appealed to the public for tips, cellphone video, witness accounts and even rumors as they searched Sunday for a suspect in the killing of three children and an adult during a mass shooting at a child's birthday party.

Someone opened fire at a banquet hall in Stockton where 100 people or more had gathered on Saturday, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow told reporters. He said detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.

Withrow said the deceased were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. Eleven people were also wounded, with at least one in critical condition, he said. No one was in custody by Sunday evening, and the sheriff urged anyone with information to contact his office.

“This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this type of behavior, when people will just walk in and kill children,” Withrow said during a Sunday media briefing. “And so if you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know. If not, you just become complacent and think this is acceptable behavior.”

Sheriff's spokesperson Heather Brent said earlier that investigators believe it was a “targeted incident." Officials did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.

Roscoe Brown said the party was in honor of his brother's granddaughter, who turned 2 years old and was uninjured. Brown, who works for the city of Stockton's Office of Violence Prevention, was in Arizona when he learned about the shooting and drove straight to the scene. He said a niece and nephew of his were shot, and he knows several other victims. He didn't have information about their conditions.

“Who would come and do that to some kids, you know?” Brown told The Associated Press following a vigil organized by faith leaders to honor the dead and pray for the wounded. “You can’t shoot up a party. That’s senseless. A kid's party, at that.”

The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday inside the hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses in the city of 320,000 residents about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of San Francisco.

“This was a birthday party for a young child, and the fact that this happened is absolutely heartbreaking," Brent told reporters. She said investigators would welcome any information, “even rumors.”

District Attorney Ron Freitas urged the shooter to "turn yourself in immediately.”

Hours after the shooting, the Stockton Police Department arrested five people, including a juvenile, on weapons and gang-related charges. There was no indication that the arrests were connected to the killings at the banquet hall, the sheriff said.

Mayor Christina Fugazi told reporters that the 8-year-old victim attended a local school and had a parent who worked for the Stockton Unified School District. The mayor said counselors would be available this week at city schools.

Community leaders expressed anguish over the loss of victims so young.

“They should be writing their Christmas lists right now. Their parents should be out shopping for them for Christmas. And to think that their lives are over. I can’t even begin to imagine what these families are going through. Breaks my heart,” Fugazi said on Sunday.

In 2024, Stockton had many more homicides — 54 — than other California cities of similar size, but the rate was down through October of this year, according to city data.

Fugazi on Saturday recalled a shooting several years ago in which “seven people were gunned down” in the city.

Withrow said he cut his family's Thanksgiving celebration short and drove more than eight hours from Oregon to the shooting scene.

“I put down my grandbabies, to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else’s babies away from them,” the sheriff said.

Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi joins a vigil near the site at Thornton Blvd. and Lucile Ave., where a mass shooting took place Saturday at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow speaks to the press outside of the sheriff’s office in French Camp, San Joaquin County, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)

Investigators with the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department stand near the site of a deadly shooting at a home in Stockton, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Public Information Officer Heather Brent with the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department speaks with members of the press at Thornton Blvd. and Lucile Ave., near the site of Saturday's shooting at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A man walks near the remains of flares as investigators with the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department work near the site of Saturday's shooting at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Investigators with the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department collect evidence at the site of Saturday's shooting at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Bystanders watch at the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Sheriff deputies stand near the scene of a mass shooting Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Investigators examine the scene of a mass shooting Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Investigators examine the scene of a mass shooting Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Investigators examine the scene of a mass shooting Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Bystanders watch at the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Bystanders watch at the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Bystanders watch at the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

First responders at scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

First responders at scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Defending champion Arsenal advanced to the Women’s Champions League semifinals despite a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in a London derby on Wednesday.

With a 3-1 home victory in the first leg of the quarterfinal last week, Arsenal reached the last four on a 3-2 aggregate score and will next face either Wolfsburg or Lyonnes.

Sjoeke Nüsken scored for Chelsea from close rage in the fourth minute of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge.

In the dramatic last few minutes, Veerle Buurman hit the post for Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar saved a goal-bound header by Nüsken.

Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor received a red card in the dying seconds of the match.

The home team was pressuring Arsenal from the start with forward Sam Kerr particularly posing a threat. Kerr missed the first leg because she was playing for Australia at the Asian Cup.

Earlier, Bayern Munich rallied with two late goals in three minutes to beat Manchester United 2-1 and advance to the semifinals on a 5-3 aggregate score.

Glódís Viggósdóttir started the rally in the 81st with a header after a corner kick, and Linda Dallmann fired from inside the area after another corner to send Bayern to its first semifinal since 2021.

Making its debut in the quarterfinals, United traveled to Germany after losing to Bayern Munich 3-2 in the opening leg at Old Trafford.

The visitors dominated the first half with Melvine Malard putting them up 1-0 after 11 minutes. The France forward used a blunder by Bayern goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic to score into an empty net, and equalize the aggregate score at 3-3.

The German powerhouse applied pressure in the second half, but Manchester’s defense led by American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce held firm until Viggósdóttir struck.

Bayern will face either Barcelona or Real Madrid in the last four.

The remaining two quarterfinals are Thursday: Barcelona hosts Real Madrid and leads 6-2 from the first leg; Wolfsburg takes a 1-0 lead to Lyon.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, left, shoots the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Veerle Buurman reacts following defeat in the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, left, and Chelsea's Ellie Carpenter battle for the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Bayern's Linda Dallmann, left, celebrates with Bayern's Giulia Gwinn after she scores her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Manchester United's goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce leaps for the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

The ball lands behin Manchester United's goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce bottom left to make it 1-1 during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

Manchester United's Melvine Malard, second right, celebrates scoring her side's frst goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Glodis Viggosdottir, centre rear, scores her sides first goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, left, celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)