Crime
Four Dead, Including Three Children, and Eleven Injured in Targeted Mass Shooting at Stockton Birthday Celebration
A mass shooting at a private banquet hall in north Stockton on Saturday evening left four people dead—three of them children—and at least eleven others injured, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred shortly before 6:00 p.m. in the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue, where approximately 100 to 150 people had gathered for a family celebration, identified by city officials as a child’s birthday party.
The venue, a recently opened event space known as Monkey Space, previously housed the Kudos Children’s Theatre.
Authorities reported that 15 individuals were struck by gunfire, with victims ranging in age from youth to adulthood.
The deceased victims have not been publicly identified; however, officials confirmed their ages as 8, 9, 14, and 21 years old.
Early investigative findings suggest the attack was targeted, though officials have not released details regarding motive or potential suspects.
Multiple unofficial law enforcement and community sources allege that Stockton-based rappers MBnel and Fly Boy Doughy may have been the intended targets, as the party was reportedly for one of their children. These claims remain unconfirmed by authorities.
Multiple 911 calls were received reporting gunfire near the intersection of Lucile Avenue and Thornton Road, just steps from a nearby Dairy Queen.
Deputies from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office were first on the scene, as the location falls within an unincorporated jurisdictional area.
Responding law enforcement declared a mass casualty incident upon arrival. Victims were transported to multiple area hospitals; however, the number and identities of facilities receiving patients have not been released. At least one hospital increased security following the incident.
A spokesperson for Sutter Health confirmed that three adult patients treated at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto remained in stable condition as of Sunday.
The shooting has sparked widespread outrage and mourning throughout Stockton.
District Attorney Ron Freitas condemned the violence, stating:
“Violence of this nature has absolutely no place at any time — and children should not be harmed by gun and gang violence.”
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi characterized the attack as an act of terrorism:
“Gang violence exists in cities across the country, but this act was a pure act of terrorism. Our community is grieving an unimaginable loss.”
The Stockton Unified School District announced it will deploy mental health clinicians and counselors across all 55 school sites as officials prepare for the possibility that the child victims were district students.
No suspects have been formally named in connection with the shooting, and investigators have not confirmed whether the gunfire was carried out by a single shooter or multiple individuals.
However, hours after the incident, law enforcement detained multiple individuals during a separate police operation near Pixie Drive and Doray Court, where a white SUV with bullet damage was seized.
Five individuals—including a 16-year-old male—were arrested on suspicion of weapons, gang activity, and conspiracy charges. Officials emphasized that these arrests have not yet been confirmed as directly linked to the mass shooting.
Stockton Police Night Watch records list those arrested as:
- Issac Grosvenor, 27
- Destiny Willis, 32
- Kevin Le, 22
- Jovon Frank, 19
- Unidentified Male, 16
Ballistics testing is underway to determine whether firearms seized during the arrests are connected to the Lucile Avenue shooting.
Authorities are urging anyone with video evidence, eyewitness accounts, or information related to the shooting to contact:
- San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office (non-emergency line): (209) 468-4400
- Stockton Crime Stoppers: (209) 946-0600
A reward for information leading to arrests and conviction has reached $25,000, funded by Crime Stoppers, Mayor Fugazi, and Councilwoman Mariela Ponce.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Heather Brent said investigators are actively pursuing leads:
“We are not releasing details that may compromise this investigation. Our detectives are working thoroughly and diligently to identify those responsible.”
Crime
Mustapha Kharbouch Now-Deleted 2024 Manifesto Published in Institute for Palestine Studies Recovered
Brown University has removed multiple online references to student activist Mustapha Kharbouch in the days following a deadly campus shooting, a move that has drawn public attention amid heightened online speculation—despite law enforcement officials confirming that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the investigation.
Archived versions of Brown University webpages show that Kharbouch, a first-year student at the time, was previously listed in several university-affiliated roles, including as a student assistant and Cultural Programming Coordinator connected to the Global Brown Center.
His academic interests were described as focusing on International and Public Affairs and Anthropology, with involvement in Middle East–focused academic, cultural, and student programming.
Those pages are no longer accessible, and Kharbouch’s social media accounts have also been deactivated.
A verified buyer from the United States with the name “Mustapha K.” reviewed a 9MM muzzle brake through the Wing Tactical website on December 29th, 2024 — the same caliber used in the Brown shooting.
There are approximately a few hundred people in the entire United States with that first name + last initial combination.
University officials have not issued a public explanation for the removal of the online profiles.
The changes occurred as online speculation intensified in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with social media users circulating screenshots of archived university pages and past writings associated with Kharbouch.
Among the materials resurfaced by online users was a 2024 essay authored by Kharbouch and published by the Institute for Palestine Studies as part of a special student essay series titled Genocide in Gaza: Student Essays — Brown University Encampment 2024.
The essay, titled “I Hear the Voice of My Ancestors Calling: From the Camps to the Campus,” was published on August 13, 2024, months before the shooting. The piece is a first-person reflective essay examining Palestinian identity, intergenerational memory, student activism, and questions of hope amid displacement, war, and protest.
The article includes poetic excerpts adapted from “Ancestors Song,” a chant popularized during student-led Palestine solidarity actions at Brown University, and documents Kharbouch’s participation in campus organizing efforts, including sit-ins, hunger strikes, rallies, and the Brown Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
The essay situates these experiences within a broader discussion of decolonial thought, feminist theory, and Palestinian history, including reflections on the 1948 Nakba and the author’s family history as a third-generation stateless Palestinian refugee raised in Lebanon.
The content of the essay is ideological, autobiographical, and academic in nature.
There is no reference to violence on campus, nor any indication of intent or planning related to criminal activity.
The Institute for Palestine Studies has not issued any statement suggesting the piece is under review or connected to the shooting.
Despite widespread online conjecture, law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Providence Police, have not named Mustapha Kharbouch as a suspect or person of interest, and have publicly stated that there is no evidence linking him to the shooting.
Investigators have emphasized that the case remains active and that conclusions are being guided strictly by verified evidence.
Authorities have cautioned against drawing inferences from online speculation, warning that unsubstantiated claims can compromise investigations and cause undue harm to individuals not implicated by facts.
Media analysts and campus observers have suggested that Brown University’s decision to remove online references may have been taken as a protective or precautionary measure, particularly as misinformation and harassment proliferated across social media platforms following the attack.
Similar actions have been taken by institutions in other high-profile incidents to limit doxxing, targeted harassment, or the misinterpretation of publicly available biographical information during periods of heightened tension.
Brown University has not confirmed whether the removals were temporary, administrative, or safety-related in nature.
Authorities continue to urge the public to rely on confirmed information released by law enforcement and to avoid amplifying unverified narratives.
As of the most recent update, no arrests have been announced, no individuals have been publicly identified as suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with credible information related to the shooting has been asked to contact investigators directly.