'Don't accept this as normal': advocates call for attention to violence dividing US after deadly shooting at children's party

Tashante McCoy was attending her grandsons fifth birthday celebration in Stockton, California, when news arrived that masked assailants had opened fire at another childrens party across town. A friend at the scene described how gunmen entered a banquet hall where over 100 guests had gathered for a toddlers birthday, and one of them began shooting just as attendees prepared to cut the cake.

The attack claimed the lives of two eight-year-olds, Rose Reotutar Guerrero and Maya Lupian, a 14-year-old named Amari Peterson, and 21-year-old Susano Archuleto. Over a dozen others were injured, including community organizer Jasmine Delafosse.

For McCoy and other long-time advocates in gun violence prevention, the shooting underscores persistent concerns about the escalating violence in Stockton, a Central Valley city of roughly 320,000 residents. Frustrations are also growing over how authorities and media cover these tragedies.

Details about suspects and the investigation remain scarce, though early reports suggest the shooting stemmed from a feud between rival groups in the city, leaving lasting trauma for survivors. McCoy, who survived a shooting at a Stockton party as a teenager and lost a brother to gun violence in 2012, now works with Crime Survivors Speak, a nonprofit supporting those affected by crime. She views the incident as part of a troubling trend in street culture that demands urgent intervention beyond traditional law enforcement, involving schools, mental health services, and community organizations.

McCoy notes a disparity in public response: mass shootings linked to street violence or perpetrated by individuals outside the stereotypical lone wolf profile often receive less empathy compared to attacks in suburban schools or malls. She argues that shootings like the Stockton incident should receive the same investigative rigor as widely publicized mass shootings. Its the same scenario: children being hurt, she said.

She observed a shift in street dynamics, where the past informal rules, such as avoiding harm to women and children, have eroded. Online diss culture, where rivals are taunted after deaths, now drives real-world violence without boundaries. McCoy emphasized that addressing this normalization of clout-chasing in gang spaces is essential to curbing further harm.

Leia Schenk, a Sacramento-based crime survivor and advocate, echoed these concerns, noting how social media conflicts escalate into shootings, often endangering children. She highlighted how shootings like Stocktons are seldom analyzed with the same seriousness as other high-profile attacks. Schenk is involved with families of victims from a 2022 Sacramento mass shooting, witnessing firsthand how initial public outrage fades when gang ties are revealed, leaving families without support.

Schenk stressed that dismissing such violence as gang-related allows lawmakers to avoid responsibility for funding youth programs or rehabilitative measures for offenders. It shows their lives dont matter, she said, criticizing the lack of systemic accountability.

Cymone Reyes, a Stockton native and director of Central Valley Gender Health and Wellness, argued that the idea of typical mass shootings should be abandoned. Local authorities, nonprofits, and community groups must work together to reach youth trapped in cycles of conflict and violence. Reyes emphasized that labeling these incidents as typical desensitizes the public and normalizes the suffering.

The tragedy also reopened old wounds for Reyes. She recalls the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton, where five children were killed and 31 injured. Decades later, she lost a nephew to gun violence in the same city. She described the ongoing community trauma, noting, This community has experienced tragedy after tragedy and yet were not doing anything to help curb that.

Author: Riley Thompson