A suspect has been arrested following a weekend shooting that left six people dead and 12 wounded in Sacramento, California.
The local police department said in a statement that it took Dandre Martin, 26, into custody in connection with the shooting that occurred early yesterday morning.
He was booked and being held on assault and illegal firearm possession charges.
Gunfire erupted as bars began to close and patrons poured onto the streets near the Golden 1 Center arena, home to the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
The Sacramento coroner's office said in a statement today that it had identified the deceased as Johntaya Alexander, 21, Melinda Davis, 57, Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21, Sergio Harris, 38, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, and Devazia Turner, 29.
Police said the 12 people who were hurt had "varying degrees of injuries."
Police recovered at least one handgun while they conducted searches at three residences in the area for the suspect and evidence.
Investigators also recovered over 100 shell casings at the scene, the department said.
The area of the shooting has recently been revitalised as an entertainment centre.
Video footage of the immediate aftermath showed first responders tending to bloodied victims. The bodies of the dead lay nearby.
"It was just horrific," said community activist Berry Accius, who arrived minutes after the shooting.
"Just as soon as I walked up you saw a chaotic scene, police all over the place, victims with blood all over their bodies, folks screaming, folks crying, people going, 'Where is my brother?' Mothers crying and trying to identify who their child was," he told local broadcaster KXTV.
The shooting happened in the downtown area, just blocks from the state capitol and close to the venue where the NBA's Sacramento Kings play.
The Kings hosted the Golden State Warriors yesterday evening, holding a moment of silence before the game.
Outspoken Warriors coach Steve Kerr said gun laws had to change if tragedies like this were to be avoided.
"It's probably the ninth or 10th moment of silence I've experienced as coach of the Warriors when we mourn the losses of our people who have died in mass shootings," he said, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
"At some point, our government has to decide: Are we going to have some commonsense gun laws? It's not going to solve everything, but it will save lives."
US President Joe Biden added his voice to calls for action.
"America once again mourns for another community devastated. We must do more than mourn; we must act," he said, reiterating his call for Congress to pass legislation to strengthen restrictions on guns.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described gun violence as a "crisis" for the country. "We cannot continue to let gun violence be the new normal," he said.
The mass casualty shooting is the latest in the United States, where firearms are involved in approximately 40,000 deaths a year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
Lax gun laws and a constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation, despite greater controls being favored by the majority of Americans.
Three-quarters of all homicides in the US are committed with guns, and the number of pistols, revolvers and other firearms sold continues to rise.
More than 23 million guns were sold in 2020 - a record - on top of 20 million in 2021, according to data compiled by website Small Arms Analytics.
That number does not include "ghost" guns, which are sold disassembled, lack serial numbers, and are highly prized in criminal circles.
In June 2021, 30% of US adults said they owned at least one gun, according to a Pew survey.
