Stockton Party Shooting Kills 4, Including 3 Children

A shooting at a child's birthday party in Stockton, California, on Saturday night left four people dead and 11 others wounded, marking the 17th mass killing in the United States this year. The victims included three children ages 8, 9 and 14, along with a 21-year-old adult, at a banquet hall where the gathering was taking place. Authorities have not yet released details on a motive or suspects in the incident.

This event brings the total number of deaths from mass killings in 2025 to at least 81, according to records tracking such incidents, which are defined as cases where four or more people are killed within a 24-hour period, excluding the perpetrator. Of the 17 mass killings recorded this year, 14 involved firearms, continuing a pattern where shootings account for the majority of such events. Since tracking began in 2006, more than 3,234 people have died in mass killings nationwide, with 81 percent of those victims killed by gunfire.

The figure for 2025 represents the lowest annual total since 2006, a decline of about 24 percent from 2024 and part of a broader downward trend following a spike in 2018 and 2019. Criminologists describe this drop as a likely regression to the...