A stolen firearm used in the mass shooting in Sacramento on Sunday was converted to be used on a fully automatic weapon, police said.
Authorities did not offer more details about the weapon. But it is possible to convert a handgun into a automatic weapon that can fire like a machine gun.
There had been suspicion that an automatic weapon was used in the shooting because video of the incident recorded rapid fire. When the gunfire was over, 18 people had been wounded, six fatally.
Officials estimate at least 100 shots were fired.
Investigators have obtained a social media post made on Saturday by one suspect, Smiley Martin, in which he wields the stolen gun, according to law enforcement sources.
That post has since been removed. The Times didn’t independently review the post.
Sacramento police announced Martin’s arrest Tuesday. His brother, Dandre Martin, 26, was booked early Monday on suspicion of assault with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a gun.
In a statement, police said that Smiley Martin, 27, was among the seriously injured in the shooting early Sunday and remained hospitalized under police custody. He will be booked at the Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of “possession of a firearm by a prohibitive person and possession of a machine gun” as soon as his medical care is completed, police said.
Videos have emerged of the shooting in downtown Sacramento that underscore the chaos of the situation.
One shows a large group of people fighting on the street, followed by rapid gunfire. Another captures multiple volleys of gunfire, including what sounds like a possible automatic weapon, before people on the street run for their lives.
Sacramento police said they believed a fight might have sparked the gunfire but were unclear about what prompted the conflict.
Witness Alexandra Arellano said she was about to walk outside of a club where she works when she heard one gunshot and then “around like 30 or 50 rounds being shot.”
Arellano’s fiance, Jesse Fuentes, said he and another security guard heard a commotion at a nearby garage. “Once we went over there, it was pretty much a gunfight going on,” he said. “We were just trying to take cover because we couldn’t tell where the shots were coming from at first, because they were coming from two different areas. But the one that really just freaked everybody out was the automatic weapons. That’s when everyone was running and pushing.”
