Mass shooting after California high school graduation kills teen, wounds 3
CNN
By Holly Yan, Laura Sharman, Diego Mendoza, CNN
(CNN) — Investigators are searching for whoever killed an 18-year-old and wounded three other people shortly after a high school graduation ceremony in California’s Bay Area.
The gunfire erupted Wednesday after the ceremony for Sem Yeto High School, which started at 6 p.m. The alternative school shares a campus with Fairfield High School, about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco.
At about 7:15 p.m., authorities responded to a shooting in the parking lot of Fairfield High School, police said.
“Three victims, ages 11, 20, and 25, sustained non-fatal gunshot injuries. A fourth victim, an 18-year-old, succumbed to their injuries,” Fairfield Police Officer Michelle Belyea said Thursday.
The 11-year-old is recovering at a local hospital, police said.
Police are not publicly identifying the mass shooting victims “pending next-of-kin notification and to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation,” Belyea said.
The Gun Violence Archive defines “mass shootings” as those in which four or more victims are shot.
‘Hundreds of potential witnesses’ but no arrests
About 1,000 people attended the graduation ceremony, “with hundreds of potential witnesses to this tragedy,” Belyea said.
Detectives are “identifying and interviewing these witnesses” and “are working diligently to identify those responsible,” Belyea said. She asked anyone with information to contact Fairfield police.
Authorities did not answer CNN’s questions about whether the attack was targeted or random, or what the motive might be.
“As this is an on-going investigation, no additional information is available for release,” police said in a statement.
Graduation photos, then bullets
The shots rang out as photos were being taken in the school parking lot, a man who attended the ceremony told CNN affiliate KCRA.
Amanda Prieto, who lives near the school, said she was on the phone in her backyard when she heard the gunfire. She was “immediately terrified” by the sound of shots from the school her 17-year-old son attends.
“I looked over the fence, and people were just screaming and running through the parking lot,” she told KCRA. “It was horrific.”
CNN has asked the school district whether the 18-year-old who was killed had just graduated from Sem Yeto High School minutes earlier.
A rite of passage marred
Thursday was supposed to be a celebratory last day of school for the 20,000 students in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. Instead, it was overshadowed by grief from the tragedy outside Fairfield High.
“Today, our focus is on supporting our students, staff, and families as they process what occurred,” the school district wrote in a letter to the community Thursday. “Caring educators and mental health support is available at our sites. We encourage anyone who needs support to reach out to their schools.”
Seniors from Fairfield High, who are set to graduate Friday evening, won’t walk across a stage at their own school.
“Out of respect for our grieving community, we have decided to move tomorrow’s Fairfield High Class of 2026 graduation ceremonies to the Armijo High School Stadium,” the school district said.
“We want our community to know that we are thinking deeply about everyone impacted by last night’s events. Our hearts are with our graduates, their families, and all those who attended the ceremony expecting to celebrate an important milestone together.”
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