26 arrests made in possible cartel-linked California killings

(NewsNation) — The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office arrested dozens of gang members and seized illegal guns and drugs during a four-day operation in California.

On Facebook, the sheriff’s office said the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into a killing that happened on Jan. 16. Six victims, ranging in age from a 72-year-old grandmother to a 10-month-old baby, were shot execution-style at their home in Goshen.

Local police have described the shooting as a possible cartel-linked “massacre.”

Two suspects in the shooting were arrested earlier this month, one after a gunbattle.

As part of their probe, officers searched a total of 97 homes, focusing on conducting probation and parole compliance checks and arrest warrant services on known gang members in Tulare County.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation conducted 23 cell searches on known “Norteno and Nuestra Familia” gang members throughout multiple prisons in California.

26 people were arrested as a part of the investigation. Seized during the operation were five firearms, ammunition, two pounds of methamphetamine, one ounce of cocaine, an illegal firearm manufacturing operation and “gang indicia.”

The illegal firearm manufacturing operation, the sheriff’s office said, was made up of gang members making and selling untraceable firearms to other gang members.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.