STOCKTON, Calif. — Three men are dead and two others injured after two shootings in Stockton Friday night, officials with the Stockton Police Department said.
At 11:18 p.m. Friday, officers say they were called to the 300 block of Coventry Drive in Stockton on reports of a shooting. At the scene, officers say they found four shooting victims.
A 26-year-old man and a 27-year-old man were pronounced dead on scene and two other men, 29 and 32, were taken by medics to area hospitals, according to police. The condition of the two men who were taken to area hospitals is unknown.
Less than 20 minutes after responding to the quadruple shooting Friday night, Stockton Police officers say they were called to the 700 block of Eighth Street on reports of another shooting.
On scene, officers found a 30-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Police say medics arrived to the scene and pronounced the victim dead.
Stockton Police Department detectives and officers were still on scene of the homicides early Saturday morning. Police have not indicated that the shootings are related, but have not released information on any suspects or a potential motive in either shooting.
Those with information on the shootings are asked to call the Stockton Police Department at 209-937-8377 or Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600 where a reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
In late February, Stockton City Manager Harry Black told ABC10 city officials were tracking at least two potential gang-related disputes in different areas of the city. In an interview with ABC10 in late March, Black said the Stockton Police Department was working more on intelligence gathering and cooperating with federal partners such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshall's Service.
At the time, the city ratcheted up its crime prevention, intervention and fighting strategy, according to Black. Ratcheting up the strategy allowed representatives with the city's Office of Violence Prevention to be more present in communities impacted by crime.
The office's 'peacekeepers program' places mediators and mentors in high crime areas and areas that have recently seen violence. During a March update to Stockton's City Council, the Office of Violence Prevention said their peacekeepers mediated in 24 conflicts in 2021.
Since the start of 2022, the office's peacekeepers have mediated in more than five conflicts, attended 20 community events and communicated with 14 people considered at high-risk for being the victim or perpetrator of gun violence.
Watch the full interview: Stockton City Manager Harry Black talks recent crime in the city | Extended Interview
The violent night in Stockton Friday marked the city's 18th, 19th and 20th homicide cases so far in 2022.
The increase in homicides so far in 2022 has come on the heels of a noticeably more peaceful year in Stockton in 2021 where police reported a drop in homicides.
In 2021, 11 homicide cases were reported by Stockton Police in the same time period, January through April.
