1 year after Sacramento's worst mass shooting in history, downtown safety is priority
SACRAMENTO -- A year after the worst mass shooting in Sacramento history, downtown businesses and city leaders say there have been visible improvements to safety and downtown visitor numbers are up.
The Sacramento Police Department says the shootout between rival gangs started as downtown clubs let out around 2 a.m. on April 3, 2022. In total, six people were killed, including three innocent women caught in the crossfire, and 12 others were injured. Three men are in custody in connection to the shooting, and they all face murder charges.
The Capital Books on K storefront is feet from the center of where the shooting broke out. The store's front door and alcove turned into a respite when the shooting started. The store's team doesn't know how many people hid protected from gunfire in the few inches of space near the door, but they believe lives were saved and that without the space, the shooting would have been worse.
Now, a year later, the store's co-owner said the event doesn't define K Street or downtown Sacramento, but it impacted employees at the store deeply.
"Two days later, we found blood on the window that told us people used the front of the store to hide," said Ross Rojek, co-owner of Capital Books.
Rojek said businesses, like the nearby Crest Cafe, still had employees inside when the shooting started and many of them were close to Capital Books employees, too. A year after, he said they knew the date was approaching, but feel like downtown is safe.
"It's mostly changed for the better. There's more places down here that are open. There's a new apartment complex, more foot traffic, more people back to work," said Rojek.
Sacramento Police Department spokesperson Zach Eaton said officers assigned to the entertainment unit as well as bicycle officers now work weekends downtown until 3 a.m.
Two businesses on K Street have closed or are in the process of getting their entertainment permit approved by the city. El Santo's entertainment permit was denied due to a history of violating city code and/or entertainment permit conditions. According to Sacramento Code Enforcement, El Santo was denied in August 2022, then the business' owner appealed the decision to deny the renewal of the permit to a Hearing Examiner, who was a third party appointed by the city council to oversee these types of proceedings. The Hearing Examiner upheld the city's decision to deny the renewal of their permit and El Santo has since closed.
The owners of London Nightclub and Lounge, the business that police and court documents outline where the shooting happened in front of, is currently in the process of renewing their entertainment permit.
