Second arrest made in Sacramento shooting; state pushes gun control bill

The Sacramento Police Department announced it has made a second arrest in the mass shooting that killed six and injured another 12 over the weekend. According to police, the two suspects are brothers.

“Detectives identified 26-year-old Dandrae Martin as a suspect in this shooting. On April 4, 2022, Martin was arrested and booked in the Sacramento Main Jail for assault with a firearm and for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm,” Sacramento Police said in a Tuesday news release. “27-year-old Smiley Martin was located at the scene with serious injuries from gunfire and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. Smiley Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues. Based on information developed during this investigation, Smiley Martin was taken into custody by Sacramento Police Department detectives on April 5, 2022.”

According to the news release, Smiley is expected to be booked in jail “for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.”

News of the second arrest in the Sacramento shooting came on the same day California State Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Bob Hertzberg was expected to take the first step to advance a bill allowing private citizens to sue anyone who distributes illegal assault weapons, parts that can be used to build weapons, guns without serial numbers, or .50 caliber rifles. The bill is just one of multiple “actions the legislature can take to end gun violence,” according to State Sen. Hertzberg.

“We currently have several bills before us in the legislature that will get illegal weapons off the streets of California,” Hertzberg tweeted Sunday. “As this horrid shooting in Sacramento shows, lives are at stake every single day we fail to take these common sense actions.”

The bill is modeled after the Texas law allowing citizens to go after those who provide or assist in providing abortions, including the potential $10,000 penalty for those successfully sued. The California bill would not bar anyone from possessing or using the weapons, though they’re illegal under other laws. And it would not include stolen weapons unless they are otherwise made illegal by, for instance, filing off the serial number.