1 dead, 2 hurt in shooting at Sacramento light rail station. Two suspects sought, police say

A shooting Thursday at a Sacramento Regional Transit light rail station in East Sacramento, near Sacramento State student apartments, left one man dead and two people injured as law enforcement searched nearby neighborhoods and along the American River for two armed suspects.

Officer Anthony Gamble, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department, said officers were notified about 3:15 p.m. of a shooting at the University and 65th Street light rail station, which is behind Wexler Apartments on Folsom Boulevard.

A male victim died at the scene, Gamble said, and two others were hospitalized. The wounded victims were a man and a woman, who were were listed in “stable” condition, according to Gamble.

Homicide detectives investigated the shooting scene through the night, but the suspects remained at large Friday.

Into the evening Thursday, a helicopter whirred over Sacramento State’s campus and surrounding neighborhoods in East Sacramento, calling residents to be on the lookout for two male suspects Gamble called “armed and dangerous.” University spokesman Brian Blomster said the campus was not on lockdown or told to shelter in place.

The suspects’ clothing may have been ditched in the American River, according to radio dispatches reviewed by The Bee. The two men still hadn’t been found as of 7:40 p.m.

Gamble said a carjacking was reported around the same time and in the same vicinity as the shooting, near the Dollar Tree on Folsom Boulevard, but that it was not confirmed whether the carjacking and homicide were connected. A stolen car was found near Riverview Hall, a dorm on campus, according to radio dispatches.

The Sacramento State Police Department in a social media post said it was assisting city police in a search for carjacking suspects along a levee near campus.

“No immediate threat to campus,” university police wrote.

As the search continued into Thursday evening, Wexler Apartments told residents in an email to refrain from opening lobby doors or gates for strangers. The property’s No. 1 priority was to keep people safe and it took action to increase security measures, according to the email provided to The Bee.

“We encourage all of our valued residents and neighbors to stay inside and be as careful as possible if you do require exiting the property, as this is an ongoing investigation,” the message read.

The University and 65th Street light rail station was closed, and riders were diverted to the Power Inn Station, said RT spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez.

A bus bridge on the RT’s Gold Line was in place between the 29th Street and Sunrise stations, Gonzalez wrote.

Sac State students react to shooting

The light rail station is just south of the Sacramento State campus, which is less crowded than usual this week due to spring break.

But Associated Students, Inc. President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez said some peers stayed to work or simply because they now call the capital city their home.

Some undergraduates walking in the area expressed uncertainty as police continued their search after more than four hours. Lisa Stade, 34, said she’s been in a lockdown before while attending Cosumnes River College and a shooter walked onto campus.

“What if this isn’t the one that I survive?” the history major said.

Sophomore Armando Perez, 19, said he was working on campus when his roommate texted him about multiple police cars swarming the area. He learned about the shooting through news coverage and wondered why the campus wasn’t on lockdown.

“It is very scary — it’s not something I take lightly,” Perez said, adding that the shooting was within walking distance of where he works and lives.

Andrade-Dominguez, the student body president, said students this week were meant to relax and unwind from stressful times. But the shooting may have altered that reality, she said.

“It causes stress for a lot of students and a feeling of unsafety,” she said, later adding, “it causes (worry that) … will this happen again?”

Andrade-Dominguez said students can access mental health resources contained within an online student portal. She commended the university for sending out an alert notifying peers about the incident and that students can call escort services at 916-278-7260 any time while walking on campus.

Stade lamented at the proliferation of shootings.

“It feels like what they call the new normal,” she said.

The Bee’s Paul Kitagaki Jr. contributed to this story.