Sacramento on track to have one of its highest homicide rates in 5 years

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Black Friday, two brothers, Dewayne James Jr., 19, and Saquan Reed, 17, were shot and killed inside Arden Fair Mall. Three days later, Sacramento police arrested Damario Beck, 18, and charged him for the homicides. 

Police said the shooting was the result of a verbal argument between two groups of people. 

"We owe it to this family, and our community, to investigate this crime and hold anybody responsible for it accountable," Chief Daniel Hahn, of the Sacramento Police Department, said. 

Hahn says he empathizes with the family because he too went through a similar experience. Hahn said he was called to a crime scene early in his career to identify his younger brother, who was a victim of gun violence

"I was a grown man. I was a police officer when that happened. So I can't imagine at 13, 14, or 15 years old having to see your brother or your good friend laying on the ground dying," Hahn said.

So far in 2020, there have been around 40 homicides in Sacramento. It's on track to outpace the last drastic uptick of violence that took place in 2015, which saw 43 homicides in the city of Sacramento.

"This is a city I have lived in my whole life. I think there are things we as a society could have done, should do, and should start doing so we don't have a person that's 17 and 19 years old losing their life and an 18 year old that is essentially going to lose their life because they are going to get locked up for a really long time," Hahn said.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg was saddened and angered by the news of the teens' deaths. Now, he's calling on police to use every legal means at their disposal to tackle an uptick in gun violence during the pandemic. 

"The epidemic of gun violence is out of control," Steinberg said. "It's too easy for young people…teenagers to have guns." 

While Steinberg and Hahn both stress this was an isolated incident, youth community leaders say the pandemic is making outreach and crime prevention very difficult. 

"I can zoom all day, but literally...I talked a kid off the edge who had a gun in his hand ready to go commit a murder," Berry Accius, founder of Voice of Youth, said. "Me and my team had to talk this man crying with a gun in his hand and get him back to safety…this is what is going on in our community."

Watch more: 

Arden Fair Mall shooting and preventing tragedies | Sacramento Police Chief ext. interview