Third suspect arrested in Sacramento mass shooting

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NewsNation) — A third arrest has been made in connection with a weekend mass shooting in California that left six people dead and at least 12 injured.

Detectives identified 31-year-old Daviyonne Dawson as the man seen carrying a gun in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Detectives recovered a handgun and arrested Dawson late Monday on charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. 

Dawson’s arrest comes on the heels of those of two brothers in the shooting incident.

On Tuesday morning, Smiley Martin was arrested after the 27-year-old was hospitalized with serious gunfire injuries from Sunday’s deadly event. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, and he will be transferred to jail once his medical care is complete, authorities said. 

Law enforcement officials also reported Smiley Martin posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before the shooting. The officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday investigators are trying to determine whether the weapon in the video was used in the shooting.

Smiley Martin is the brother of Dandrae Martin, 26 — the first man taken into custody who Sacramento Police are referring to as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun.

Dandrae Martin was set to appear in court Tuesday. Investigators Tuesday morning continued searching for more suspects who were responsible for the violence on the outskirts of the city’s main entertainment district that occurred as bars and nightclubs were closing.

Dozens of rapid-fire gunshots rang out early Sunday in the crowded streets of Sacramento in the area anchored by the Golden One Center, which attracts big-name concerts and is home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

The Sacramento County coroner released the identities of the six people killed. They were Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.

Family and friends of the victims gathered three blocks away from the shooting to hold a vigil for their loved ones.

“I feel like I can’t even talk,” Patricia Powell, Turner’s sister, told NewsNation. “I feel like something inside of me died.”

Sacramento has endured two mass shootings in the last five weeks. On Feb. 28, a father killed his three daughters, a chaperone and himself in a Sacramento church during a weekly supervised visitation. David Mora, 39, was armed with a homemade semiautomatic rifle-style weapon, even though he was under a restraining order that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.

“Our city is shook,” said Berry Accius, a local community activist at a Monday night vigil. “This is the second, I said the second, mass shooting we’ve had in Sacramento. What are we going to do about that, city? Our voices can no longer be silent.”

Sacramento Police said Monday they collected more than 100 spent bullet casings littered throughout the downtown streets.

Few other details have been made public as investigators comb through evidence gathered from what police Chief Kathy Lester called a complex crime scene. Witnesses have submitted more than 170 videos and photos taken during and shortly after the shooting.

Which is exactly why, despite six being dead and three in custody, the Sacramento district attorney has not charged anyone with homicide.

“It’s crucial for investigators to review the evidence thoroughly, build the best case and vet every single tip that comes in,” attorney April Preyar told NewsNation’s “Rush Hour” on Tuesday evening. “Anytime there is a huge tragedy like this with a lots of eyewitnesses, usually that eyewitness testimony is unreliable.”