14-Year-Old Victim ID’d in Calif. Mass Shooting at Child’s Birthday Party, Which Killed Three Kids

The 14-year-old boy who was killed in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in Stockton, California, on Saturday night has been identified as Amari Peterson, as his grieving family works to honor his memory and cover funeral costs.

“No parent should ever have to bury their child,” Peterson’s family wrote in a GoFundMe created two days after his death to help with funeral expenses.

“No family should ever go from planning birthdays to planning funerals,” the fundraiser continued.

The shooting took place on Nov. 29 at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., where 15 people were injured in total, according to authorities.

Officials with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said at least four people died from injuries sustained during the attack, including three children and a 21-year-old man. The 21-year-old victim was later identified as Susano Archuleta, according to CBS News.

Authorities said the three children killed were 8, 9 and 14 years old.

Peterson’s family described the 14-year-old as “a bright, loved, and promising young soul whose life was taken far too soon by a senseless act of violence.”

“Amari was a football player, a basketball player, a brother, son, and cousin,” they wrote, calling his death an “unimaginable tragedy.”

“He was making plans and looking into colleges of choice,” the family added. “He was NOT involved in any gang activity. The only mistake this sweet boy made was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was simply being a kid at a kids’ party.”

More than 100 people had gathered at the banquet hall to celebrate a 2-year-old girl’s birthday when gunfire erupted, the Associated Press reported.

Roscoe Brown, the uncle of two children who were shot, called the violence “senseless” in an interview with the AP.

“Who would come and do that to some kids?” he asked.

ABC10 reported Sunday, Nov. 30, that the 8-year-old victim was a student in the Stockton Unified School District.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that one of the victims of last night’s tragic mass shooting was a Stockton Unified School District student,” Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said in a statement, according to the outlet. “As educators we hurt deeply anytime a child is hurt. We hold this student’s family in our hearts, and we grieve alongside them and our entire community.”

Local investigators remained at the scene of the shooting overnight on Saturday, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference the following day. Officials were “processing evidence with assistance from the California Department of Justice,” while the ATF and FBI also joined the investigation.

“Finding the person or persons who committed this crime is the number one priority,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent said at a Sunday press conference, according to ABC10. “Right now, we ask this community, don’t let this divide you. Make it something that brings you together, come together as a community and let’s help each other.”

Brent did not respond to a request for comment Monday about what investigators believe may have motivated the attack, though she said at a Saturday night news conference that “early indications suggest this may be a targeted incident, and investigators are exploring all possibilities.”

In the days after the shooting, local leaders expressed shock and heartbreak.

Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi wrote on Instagram on Sunday that she “could not sleep” after learning about the shooting the previous night.

“I lay there in disbelief about what these families, these children, and our entire community went through,” she wrote. “The trauma they are living with is unimaginable.”

She continued: “Children who saw things no child should ever see. Loved ones standing there, watching someone they care about murdered in cold blood right in front of them. These are wounds that will likely never heal, let alone quickly. This is trauma that will follow these kids and these families for the rest of their lives.”