Sacramento Sniper Shoots Six in Park

A sniper fired two shotgun blasts into a group of people eating lunch in a downtown park at noontime today, wounding six people, including two children.

All of the injuries were described as minor pellet wounds.

Police said that the shots came from a building facing the park, about half a mile south of the state Capitol, but that they had not immediately found any witnesses.

One of the victims, Valerie Garrett, 28, of Sacramento, who suffered minor wounds in the chest and elbow, told reporters, “We didn’t know what was happening at first. We thought it was just a backfire until we were hit.”

Her companion, Diana Lenerd, 18, also of Sacramento, added: “Something hit both of us at the same time. It was just a little sting at first. Then it started to burn.”

Baby and Small Boy

They said the other four victims were a baby, a small boy and two men. Police Sgt. Bob Burns said none of the wounds was life-threatening, but gave no other details.

“We had two shotgun blasts fired into the people” sitting on benches in the park, Burns said.

“We are attempting at this time to determine exactly where the shots came from. Nobody saw the suspect. All anybody saw were the blasts from the shotgun.”

He said officers found shotgun wadding in front of a house and were searching the area for the sniper. They set up roadblocks in the area, which is a few blocks south of the state Capitol near 16th and P streets and by John C. Fremont Park.