A child’s birthday party – a usually joyous event – turned into the site of a mass shooting Saturday night that left three children and one other person dead and 11 wounded, with the suspected shooter still on the run.

The tragedy in Stockton, California, adds to a growing list of American communities whose everyday spaces – schools, shopping centers, bars and office buildings – have experienced gun violence.

Children and adults were among those shot, according to Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office. Officials did not immediately release the conditions of those taken to area hospitals.

“Early indications suggest this may have been a targeted incident,” Brent said at a news conference. “This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited,” she said.

Those killed were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21, Brent said Sunday. Authorities have not released the names of the victims.

Sheriff Patrick Withrow made a plea to the community Sunday to continue providing information to his office about the shooting, no matter how small it may be.

“I am confident in our team and with the work that we have done so far that we will find these animals that did this and bring them justice, but we still need the public’s help.” Withrow said.

The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. in the northern part of the city, according to the sheriff’s office. The banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with several businesses, including a Dairy Queen, was hosting a family celebration that investigators were told was a birthday party for a young child with 100 to 150 people in attendance, Brent said. Stockton is about 40 miles south of Sacramento.

The suspected shooter fled and remains at large, Brent said. Officials are urging the public for help with information as detectives work to determine a possible motive. “Investigators are exploring all possibilities,” Brent said.

“We’re confident that this was not a random act,” Withrow said Sunday. “We’re not gonna say whether it’s gang related or not, until we have all the facts in front of us.”

Withrow said he drove more than eight hours and, had to, “put down my grandbabies to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else’s babies away from them.”

“My heart goes out to the families of those killed, the injured, and the survivors,” said former Rep. Gabby Giffords, herself a survivor of gun violence and founder of the gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS.

“While we await for more information on the shooting, what is painfully obvious is that we need our federal leaders to act to stop gun violence.”

First responders close off a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stockton, Calif.

Ethan Swope/AP

There have been at least 380 mass shootings in the US so far this year – defined as when at least four people are shot, not including the shooter – according to the Gun Violence Archive.

In January, a shooting at Martin’s Super Market in Elkhart, Indiana, left two people dead and two police officers injured. In August, a man walked into the lobby of a Park Avenue skyscraper in New York City, killed a police officer, then opened fire on other innocent strangers. The next month in Colorado, a shooting at Evergreen High School left two students critically wounded after a fellow student allegedly opened fire during their third week of classes.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the shooting, according to his office.

“Our hearts break for their families and the entire Stockton community,” Newsom said in a post on X Sunday.

Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi said in a statement that the governor has “offered the full support of the state of California” to assist the community.

“Tonight our city is facing a heartbreaking and painful situation,” Fugazi wrote. “Please keep the victims, their loved ones, and our first responders in your prayers.”

Jesse Eisenberg is ‘excited’ to be donating one of his kidneys to a stranger: It’s ‘so needed’

Jesse Eisenberg shocked some folks during an appearance on “Today” with an announcement which seemed to also surprise him.

The “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” star was being hailed by the morning show’s co-anchor Craig Melvin for being a big supporter of blood drives, given that Eisenberg once helped out and donated during one held at “Today.”

“Yeah that’s true,” Eisenberg said. “I’m actually donating my kidney in six weeks. I really am.”

As those present expressed their surprise, the actor added, “I don’t know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. Yeah, I love it..”

“The Social Network” actor explained that he was “doing an altruistic donation” in mid-December.

“I’m so excited to do it,” he added.

In a separate interview, Eisenberg got more in depth into why he was giving his kidney to a stranger.

“It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” he said. “I think people will realize that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”

Eisenberg said he originally had the idea to donate a decade ago, but never heard back from an organization he approached about doing it.

CNN has reached out to reps for the actor for additional comment.