04-04-2025
3 years after Sacramento's K Street shooting, what has city done to prevent future tragedies?
SACRAMENTO — Thursday marked three years since
Sacramento's deadly K Street shooting
. Six people were killed and twelve others were hurt.
Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton
are accused of being among the rival gang members who squared off in the shooting. Martin's brother, Smiley, was also charged but
died inside the jail
.
The trial has been postponed until after June as defense attorneys want it moved out of Sacramento County because of widespread media attention.
Fresh flowers and candles marked the spot where the city's deadliest mass shooting occurred.
"It's a horrible thing to happen to our community," said Leia Schenk, the founder of the anti-violence group Empact. "It's a horrible thing to happen to the downtown nightlife, which will never be the same."
Schenk continues helping family members who lost loved ones in the shooting as they attend the criminal court hearings.
"These families have to come in that courtroom month in and month out, and they have to relive it over and over," she said.
Schenk believes more work needs to be done to prevent these types of tragedies.
"I don't think anything has changed," she said. "We still have gun violence."
In response to the mass shooting, the City of Sacramento created a new office of nighttime economy to work on improving security.
"That was such an unfortunate event, but since that time, we've really had some really great events," said Tina Lee-Vogt, the director of the office.
Lee-Vogt said that people shouldn't be concerned about visiting downtown.
"Every weekend, we have tens of thousands of people who go to our different locations, have a great time and come home safely," she said. "And so our office has been really good at educating folks and being a really good resource, and being a liaison between the city in our businesses to operate safely."
Since the mass shooting, there have been a number of other violent crimes along the K Street corridor, including a fatal stabbing outside the Golden 1 Center just before a Christian rock concert.
Groups like Empact say the city needs to put more effort into stopping gangs and getting guns off the streets.
"If you're not dealing with the root cause, then you get nowhere," Schenk said.
There's also concern that police patrols and violence prevention programs could see cuts this year due to Sacramento's budget deficit.
