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Roseville shooting: Gunman takes 2 hostages, leaves 1 dead after wounding cop in Mahany Park attack

The unnamed suspect reportedly wounded a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer and captured two hostages from the street before killing one of them

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA: A suspected gunman was arrested following a shooting incident at Mahany Park in Roseville, California, around 12.30 pm on Thursday, April 6. The unnamed suspect reportedly wounded a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer and captured two hostages from the street before killing one and eventually surrendering to authorities.

The incident began after the gunman shot the CHP officer, Roseville Police Captain Kelby Newton shared on Twitter. “CHP can confirm one of their officers struck by gun shots and is in stable condition,” the Roseville Police Department added. The cop was serving an arrest warrant at the time of the shooting, as per ABC10. The latest incident comes a few days after a Fayetteville bar parking lot shooting left one dead and four injured. Nearly a week ago another shooting at Trader Joe’s parking lot killed one and left three hospitalized. Back in January, the Monterey Park mass shooting during Lunar New Year celebrations left 11 dead and nine others injured.

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What happened at Roseville’s Mahany Park?

On Thursday, April 6, at approximately 12.30 pm, the Roseville Police Department responded to help a California Highway Patrol Task Force Officer following reports of shots being fired near Mahany Park, the City of Roseville confirmed in a statement. Shortly after, officers arrived at the scene to assist the wounded cop and came across the armed suspect. The gunman then attempted to flee and took two innocent civilians as hostages near the greenbelt area of the park. The suspect reportedly shot the hostages before he surrendered to the officials.

One hostage was pronounced dead on the scene while the other was also transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The injured CHP officer was also admitted to a hospital and his condition was declared to be stable. “The suspect was taken to a local hospital but was not shot,” Captain Kelby Newton noted on Twitter. “On behalf of the Roseville City Council and City employees, we extend and offer our support and condolences to the victims, their families, all who witnessed this tragic incident and those who responded. Roseville is known as a safe and caring community that looks out for one another. Times like this are when we are at our strongest and best,” Roseville Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt said in an official statement.

The City of Roseville further shared that firefighters were present at Fire Station 5 in Mahany Park when they heard active gunfire. Several crew members summoned for additional resources exited the station and safely moved the injured CHP officer to provide medical care before they were transported to the hospital. “Roseville Police and Fire Departments train regularly for all kinds of incidents in case they come to our city, like today. That training helped contain the situation so there was no additional loss of life,” Roseville Police Chief Troy Bergstrom added. No people using the indoor facilities or any city staff were injured during the incident.

Sutter Roseville Medical Center confirmed that two adult individuals were sent to its hospital following the shooting, KCRA 3 reported. Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Medical Center also shared that one person injured in the shooting was being treated at their hospital, the publication mentioned. KCRA 3 reporter Michelle Bandur also shared a Twitter video from a bystander with a gunshot sound being heard in the background. “Shooting in Roseville. Grandfather took this video while hunkering down in baseball dugout during shooting w officers, armed man walking his dog. "Bullets flying" Grandfather, grandson, not hurt,” she wrote. Officials shared that the names of the suspect would not be revealed until the next of kin is notified. The name of the suspect was also witheld at the time of writing.

‘The volley of fire just went off’

A witness named Victor Michael, who was at batting practice with his child at Mahany Park during the shooting incident, shared his experience with the Associated Press. He told the publication that he initially thought that kids were playing paintball before noticing the police asking someone to “get down” and hearing the sound of gunfire.

“I can’t tell you who shot first, I just know that I saw a suspect look back and the volley of fire just went off. It was crazy. I just told my kid and everybody to get down,” he said. Michael said he heard a total of 20 to 30 gunshots and took cover behind the tires of his truck with his child.

The Roseville Mahany Park shooting prompted several lockdowns

In the wake of the shooting incident, facilities at Mahany Park went on a temporary lockdown. Parks, recreation, and library staff notified visitors about the situation and locked down the indoor and pool facilities to protect civilians, including 33 children attending spring break camps. "No activities [were] going on near the ball fields" at the park during the shooting, Captain Newton confirmed on Twitter.

Children at the camps were moved to Quail Glen Elementary School and eventually reunited with their parents. The Mahany Fitness Center and Martha Riley Community Library also went into lockdown but the restriction was lifted by 3.00 pm local time. Roseville police declared the situation safe and said no threats were active but mentioned that the crime scene would be closed to the public for an indefinite amount of time, KCRA 3 reported.