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Sacramento 'machine gun' shootings likely result of dispute between rivals, police say

Police in California's capital city are still attempting to piece together what happened early Sunday morning

April 6, 2022 12:29pm

Updated: April 7, 2022 9:44am

Sunday's mass shooting in Sacramento, California, appears to have started as a fight between rivals that resulted innocent bystanders getting hit by the gunfire that killed six and wounding a dozen others.

Police also have now announced three arrests in connection to the shootings, including one male with a long rap sheet who is hospitalized with gunshot wounds, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The suspect, Smiley Martin, 27, will be booked at Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of "possession of a firearm by a prohibitive person and possession of a machine gun," police say.

Martin is the brother of Dandrae Martin, who has been arrest in connection with the early-morning shootings on suspicion of assault with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a gun.

A third arrest was made Tuesday. Police took into custody 31-year-old Daviyonne Dawson, who was spotted totting a gun following the deadly shooting but apparently has not been charged as a shooter.

Police are still attempting to figure out exactly what happened during the early hours of Sunday morning as crowds departed Sacramento's downtown scene.

Sacramento Police Sgt. Zach Eaton said detectives are reviewing over 170 videos and social media posts that have been submitted by the public. Many of them show the Martin brothers and their friends brandishing automatic weapons hours before the shooting.