STOCKTON, Calif. — A woman was killed, a child was left critically hurt and another woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a triple shooting turned into a hostage-taking and standoff Saturday night, Stockton police said Sunday.
Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, Zackery Smith said he and his 8-year-old son were hanging out outside at the Blue Ridge Heights Apartments on Blue Ridge Circle.
"The first couple of shots went off... it was way too close for comfort," Smith said. "By the time we got to our front gate, a swarm of 20 police officers with their guns out."
The officers were searching for 39-year-old Sim Jackson, accused of firing gunshots in the area.
"When officers approached this apartment, they were met with a 39-year-old suspect who fired multiple shots at officers," said Stockton Police Department spokesperson Officer David Scott. "One officer discharged his weapon back at that suspect."
Police said the officer's bullets didn't hit anyone. After hearing the gunfire, Jackson allegedly ran back inside the apartment unit, kicking off a nearly hour-and-a-half-long standoff.
"It was reported that there were people inside that apartment. So at that point, it does become a barricaded/hostage situation," Scott said.
That situation played out in the unit right below Smith and his son.
"I'm freaking out, thinking it's going to come through the floor," Smith said. "We barricaded ourselves in the closet."
Jackson eventually surrendered peacefully and was uninjured, Scott said. Inside the apartment unit, officers made a chilling discovery.
"They did locate two young juveniles that were not injured," Scott said. "And then they located three gunshot victims."
The victims included a 26-year-old woman pronounced dead at the scene, a 30-year-old woman with non-life-threatening injuries and an infant who was in critical but stable condition as of Sunday afternoon.
Investigators believe everyone in the apartment unit knew each other.
"My son, he's 8 years old, so he kept asking what's going to happen, you know all these sad (questions)," Smith said, adding that he and his son had only had positive interactions with the family involved. "I can understand gang violence, I can understand rivalries, I can understand accidents. This was not an accident. This was uncalled for, and those types of people deserve to be exactly where he is right now."
Since police said no one was hit by the officer's bullets, there will be no officer-involved shooting protocol investigation, but the state's Department of Justice is looking into the case. The officer involved was placed on a four-day leave.
Jackson was charged with homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and weapons charges, police said. He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
"This kind of stuff, this should have never happened in this neighborhood," Smith said. "We would have never expected it."
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