Gunman opens fire at Tulare funeral, killing 1 and wounding 5, including a child

A gunman opened fire on a group of people who had gathered to honor a dead loved one in Tulare on Wednesday night, killing one person and wounding five others, including a 7-year-old girl, police said.

Witnesses told police that a man walked up and fired multiple rounds at the group of about 50 to 60 people at an apartment complex shortly before 10:30 p.m. The celebration-of-life gathering was being held for a man who was killed in a car crash several days earlier.

Tulare Police Sgt. Edward Hinojosa described the scene as chaotic when officers arrived.

“People were running in every direction, some trying to attend to family members who had been struck,” he told the Fresno Bee.

A 23-year-old man was shot and killed. A 7-year-old girl suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a children’s hospital. A woman who suffered a wound from a bullet grazing her leg was treated at the scene. Two men and a woman were wounded and taken to hospitals for treatment. They are expected to survive their injuries, Hinojosa said. None of the victims was identified.

Officers were still searching for the gunman early Thursday and provided no description. Investigators suspect the shooting may have been gang-related.