On November 29, 2025, it was the day of a child’s birthday party, and what they didn’t know was that this simple gathering in celebration of a young child being born would result in 4 deaths and one of the most tragic mass shootings in the Stockton area in multiple years. This mass shooting resulted in 4 deaths, including three children, and about 11 others were injured. 

That Saturday, the 19th, before 6 pm, a scene from a horror movie unfolded right in front of everyone’s eyes. This all happened at a “banquet hall in an unincorporated part of San Joaquin County, north of the Stockton city limits,” according to authorities (sourced by The Sacramento Bee Newspaper). 

According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, the shots of gunfire began at around 6 pm, saying, “Our units responded and found approximately 15 victims of gunshot wounds at this party. And, unfortunately, four of those 15 are deceased,” said San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow.

Officials then began to depict the circumstance further as it appeared the shooting started on the inside of the celebrating banquet area, then was moved outside. “It appears that it started indoors and then worked its way outdoors.”

At this birthday celebration of this two-year-old’s life, there appeared to be about 100-150 guests before the gunshots quickly broke out. Seeing the patterns of the people who happened to be at this party, it seemed as if they were unfamiliar with the area, as some guests appeared to run towards nearby businesses to get away from this mass shooting, but others told officials they were not able to make it far, as there were fences that surrounded certain areas from the nearby shopping areas. 

It was later revealed that the business where the party was held was not a professional banquet hall (meaning it was not licensed in this capacity). Willie Collins and his girlfriend ran the company called “Vertical Compass LLC.” This means it was not a professional business, which has led some to suspect there was suspicious activity before the party. 

The four people who were brutally killed in this fatality were ages 8, 9, and 14, along with their 21-year-old aunt. The victims’ names are yet to be released by the county to maintain respect for the victims and their families. Still, the families themselves decided to release some names, “21-year-old Susano Archuleta,” said his brother, Emmanuel Lopez, who also told The New York Times that Archuleta was shot in the neck and died at the scene of the crime, followed by, “Lopez said his 9-year-old daughter was also shot in the head at the party but survived.”

Family members identified the 8-year-old as Maya Lupian. They described her as energetic and happy, saying she was in the third grade, loved to sing and draw, and had a purple belt in martial arts. Sadly, this young girl died because of this mass shooting. The 14-year-old boy who was killed in the shooting was also identified by his father, Patrick Peterson, as Amari Peterson of Modesto. Overall, the status of the other 11 who were injured is not currently known by the public, except that one victim seems to be in critical condition, maybe more. 

Since this tragic day, people of the community and nearby areas have gathered and paid respects to these victims while investigators continue to discover more about this case every day.