Six people, five of them teenagers, were shot and wounded shortly after a graduation party in Santa Rosa broke up early Sunday morning.
At least two victims were recent graduates and student leaders at Elsie Allen High School and a third was the mother of one of the wounded teens.
Santa Rosa police said the attack appeared to be unprovoked. Investigators were searching for at least two gunmen in what was described as the city's worst shooting in memory.
"I don't ever recall a scene with six shooting victims ever in Santa Rosa," said Lt. Tom Swearingen, a 25-year police veteran. "I don't think I've ever seen this level of violence before."
Friends and school officials identified four of the victims: Josh Inong, 17; his mother, Corrine Inong, 48; Kelly Stalnaker, 18; and Vanessa Anderson, 18. Police declined to name the victims out of concern for their safety.
All six victims are residents of Santa Rosa, police said.
Josh Inong, the captain of Elsie Allen's nationally acclaimed rugby team, hosted a graduation party Saturday evening at his South Davis Street home in the Roseland neighborhood.
Police said Inong and Stalnaker, along with at least three other teens, left for another graduation party after Inong's party broke up. When they arrived back at Inong's house at about 2 a.m., two men emerged from the shadows and opened fire with a rifle and a shotgun.
The gunmen shouted gang epithets and fired at Inong and Stalnaker, who were standing on the porch, as well as three other teens standing in a driveway beside the cream-colored, wood-paneled house, police said.
None of the victims is believed to be a gang member, police said. Neither of the weapons used in the shooting has been recovered.
Josh Inong was shot in both legs, the back and the right arm. He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Stalnaker, who was shot in the chest and both arms, also was taken to Memorial Hospital. Police interviewed both teens Sunday night.
Anderson was wounded in the thigh and her head was grazed by a bullet. She was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
Police said a 17-year-old boy was hit in the right thigh. A bullet grazed the scalp of another 17-year-old boy.
Corrine Inong was inside the house when she was hit in the right heel by a shot that went through a wall.
Individual reports weren't available for the victims but police said two were in critical but stable condition, two were in serious condition and two suffered moderate injuries.
The suspects were last seen running toward Olive Street. Police had no description for either of the men and it wasn't known if they had a vehicle.
Santa Rosa Police Chief Ed Flint vowed to capture the gunmen.
"We're in the early stages of this investigation," he said Sunday night. "We probably have a lot to do. But we have some very tenacious investigators, and they're not going to let this one go. We will get to the bottom of this."
Mary Beth Halsey, the vice principal at Elsie Allen, described the shootings as shocking.
"They're just beautiful young people, and it's a sad commentary .. . on our community that we have gang warfare, and at this point it is unsolved," she said.
Prev "Let's hope that they make it out and can go on with their lives," Halsey added.
Josh Inong and Stalnaker graduated from Elsie Allen on June 10. Anderson also may have recently graduated from Elsie Allen.
Inong led his rugby team to a second place finish in the National Tier A tournament this year. He's one of a handful of high school students who is qualified to try out for the national rugby team later this year. Inong also has devoted hours to community service, planting trees, visiting elders and working in soup kitchens.
"I like to help out and know that someone appreciates it," he said in a 2004 interview. "Afterwards, I usually feel a lot better about myself. I usually look forward to the next time."
Stalnaker, who was set to leave Sunday for a university in Florida, was a varsity cheerleader at Elsie Allen in addition to participating with an elite, inter-school squad.
In a 2003 interview, she talked about being president of her sophomore class and devoting hours to cheerleading while still maintaining a strong grade point average.
"I think I get that drive from myself, but a lot of it is from my family and looking up to them," she said. "I want to be something. My whole family has been over-achieving. If I wasn't I'd really be out of place."
No one answered the door or the phone Sunday at the Inong residence, which is located in a working-class neighborhood near the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 101.
By Sunday afternoon, the only evidence of the attack was a bullet hole through the front door and a trash can piled with crime-scene tape.
Two small children played with their father at the playground across the street, and neighbors expressed anger and frustration over the attacks on Sunday.
"It makes me mad to hear about this stuff," said Jose Hernandez, a neighbor. "Josh is a good guy."
Although the victims aren't believed to be gang members, Santa Rosa Mayor Jane Bender said the attack underscores the need for the city to control gang violence and ensure neighborhood safety.
"It's going to be a very serious reminder to us to put on the pressure to prevent this, and for enforcement, to get to the bottom of who was doing this," she said.
Flint said gang violence is a top priority and police were optimistic they were making progress before Sunday morning's attack.
There's been one gang-related homicide in Santa Rosa this year compared to eight last year, Flint said.
Seldom have so many people been wounded in a single attack in Sonoma County.
Farmworker Ramon Salcido killed seven people and wounded two others in 1989. And one man was killed and two were wounded in a Dec. 26, 2001, shootout at the Travelodge motel in downtown Santa Rosa. Few other recent shootings have involved more than one victim.
On Sunday, four ambulances and a helicopter were needed to tend to the wounded at the Inong home.
So many people had been shot that they were taken to different hospitals to avoid overtaxing any one facility, including Memorial, Sutter Medical Center, Kaiser-Permanente Hospital and John Muir Medical Center.
According to police, the graduation party at Inong's home had broken up a while before the attack.
A couple of carloads of teenagers had driven to another graduation party in southwest Santa Rosa and just returned to Inong's home when the shooting occurred.
Inong and Stalnaker were entering the front door. Anderson and the other teens were in the driveway.
One bullet went completely through the door. Mike Inong tried to help his son, a neighbor said. Stalnaker was struck before she could move away.
The other teens were shot in the driveway and a shot that passed through an exterior wall struck Corrine Inong, according to police.
Police said they had identified several witnesses but asked anyone with information about the shootings to contact investigators at 543-3590.
Six people, five of them teenagers, were shot and wounded shortly after a graduation party in Santa Rosa broke up early Sunday morning.
At least two victims were recent graduates and student leaders at Elsie Allen High School and a third was the mother of one of the wounded teens.
Santa Rosa police said the attack appeared to be unprovoked. Investigators were searching for at least two gunmen in what was described as the city's worst shooting in memory.
"I don't ever recall a scene with six shooting victims ever in Santa Rosa," said Lt. Tom Swearingen, a 25-year police veteran. "I don't think I've ever seen this level of violence before."
Friends and school officials identified four of the victims: Josh Inong, 17; his mother, Corrine Inong, 48; Kelly Stalnaker, 18; and Vanessa Anderson, 18. Police declined to name the victims out of concern for their safety.
All six victims are residents of Santa Rosa, police said.
Josh Inong, the captain of Elsie Allen's nationally acclaimed rugby team, hosted a graduation party Saturday evening at his South Davis Street home in the Roseland neighborhood.
Police said Inong and Stalnaker, along with at least three other teens, left for another graduation party after Inong's party broke up. When they arrived back at Inong's house at about 2 a.m., two men emerged from the shadows and opened fire with a rifle and a shotgun.
The gunmen shouted gang epithets and fired at Inong and Stalnaker, who were standing on the porch, as well as three other teens standing in a driveway beside the cream-colored, wood-paneled house, police said.
None of the victims is believed to be a gang member, police said. Neither of the weapons used in the shooting has been recovered.
Josh Inong was shot in both legs, the back and the right arm. He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Stalnaker, who was shot in the chest and both arms, also was taken to Memorial Hospital. Police interviewed both teens Sunday night.
Anderson was wounded in the thigh and her head was grazed by a bullet. She was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
Police said a 17-year-old boy was hit in the right thigh. A bullet grazed the scalp of another 17-year-old boy.
Corrine Inong was inside the house when she was hit in the right heel by a shot that went through a wall.
Individual reports weren't available for the victims but police said two were in critical but stable condition, two were in serious condition and two suffered moderate injuries.
The suspects were last seen running toward Olive Street. Police had no description for either of the men and it wasn't known if they had a vehicle.
Santa Rosa Police Chief Ed Flint vowed to capture the gunmen.
"We're in the early stages of this investigation," he said Sunday night. "We probably have a lot to do. But we have some very tenacious investigators, and they're not going to let this one go. We will get to the bottom of this."
Mary Beth Halsey, the vice principal at Elsie Allen, described the shootings as shocking.
"They're just beautiful young people, and it's a sad commentary .. . on our community that we have gang warfare, and at this point it is unsolved," she said.
"Let's hope that they make it out and can go on with their lives," Halsey added.
Josh Inong and Stalnaker graduated from Elsie Allen on June 10. Anderson also may have recently graduated from Elsie Allen.
Inong led his rugby team to a second place finish in the National Tier A tournament this year. He's one of a handful of high school students who is qualified to try out for the national rugby team later this year. Inong also has devoted hours to community service, planting trees, visiting elders and working in soup kitchens.
"I like to help out and know that someone appreciates it," he said in a 2004 interview. "Afterwards, I usually feel a lot better about myself. I usually look forward to the next time."
Stalnaker, who was set to leave Sunday for a university in Florida, was a varsity cheerleader at Elsie Allen in addition to participating with an elite, inter-school squad.
In a 2003 interview, she talked about being president of her sophomore class and devoting hours to cheerleading while still maintaining a strong grade point average.
"I think I get that drive from myself, but a lot of it is from my family and looking up to them," she said. "I want to be something. My whole family has been over-achieving. If I wasn't I'd really be out of place."
No one answered the door or the phone Sunday at the Inong residence, which is located in a working-class neighborhood near the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 101.
By Sunday afternoon, the only evidence of the attack was a bullet hole through the front door and a trash can piled with crime-scene tape.
Two small children played with their father at the playground across the street, and neighbors expressed anger and frustration over the attacks on Sunday.
"It makes me mad to hear about this stuff," said Jose Hernandez, a neighbor. "Josh is a good guy."
Although the victims aren't believed to be gang members, Santa Rosa Mayor Jane Bender said the attack underscores the need for the city to control gang violence and ensure neighborhood safety.
"It's going to be a very serious reminder to us to put on the pressure to prevent this, and for enforcement, to get to the bottom of who was doing this," she said.
Flint said gang violence is a top priority and police were optimistic they were making progress before Sunday morning's attack.
There's been one gang-related homicide in Santa Rosa this year compared to eight last year, Flint said.
Seldom have so many people been wounded in a single attack in Sonoma County.
Farmworker Ramon Salcido killed seven people and wounded two others in 1989. And one man was killed and two were wounded in a Dec. 26, 2001, shootout at the Travelodge motel in downtown Santa Rosa. Few other recent shootings have involved more than one victim.
On Sunday, four ambulances and a helicopter were needed to tend to the wounded at the Inong home.
So many people had been shot that they were taken to different hospitals to avoid overtaxing any one facility, including Memorial, Sutter Medical Center, Kaiser-Permanente Hospital and John Muir Medical Center.
According to police, the graduation party at Inong's home had broken up a while before the attack.
A couple of carloads of teenagers had driven to another graduation party in southwest Santa Rosa and just returned to Inong's home when the shooting occurred.
Inong and Stalnaker were entering the front door. Anderson and the other teens were in the driveway.
One bullet went completely through the door. Mike Inong tried to help his son, a neighbor said. Stalnaker was struck before she could move away.
The other teens were shot in the driveway and a shot that passed through an exterior wall struck Corrine Inong, according to police.
Police said they had identified several witnesses but asked anyone with information about the shootings to contact investigators at 543-3590.
