STOCKTON, Calif. — A toddler’s birthday party at an event hall just outside Stockton ended in a mass shooting that killed four people and wounded 13 others.
The gathering was held Nov. 29, 2025, at Monkey Space on Lucile Avenue in unincorporated San Joaquin County. About 80 to 150 guests were present shortly before 6 p.m., as dinner was being served and cake was about to be cut, when gunfire erupted inside the venue.
Witnesses described a sudden burst of shots. People dove for cover, shielded children, and fled over fences and down nearby streets. Emergency crews treated victims at the scene before taking the wounded to hospitals. Some were in critical condition.
The dead were 8-year-olds Maya Lupian and Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero, 14-year-old Amari Peterson, and 21-year-old Susano Archuleta. Investigators later said more than 50 rounds were fired from at least five firearms and that the attack appeared targeted, with possible involvement of more than one shooter. San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said known gang members were among the guests but that a motive has not been confirmed.
No suspects have been publicly identified or arrested in connection with the killings. Two men who attended the party were later held on parole violations unrelated to the shooting. Investigators recovered vehicles of interest months afterward. A reward that grew to about $130,000 has been offered for information leading to an arrest. The FBI and ATF have assisted the sheriff’s office, which has jurisdiction because the hall sits just outside city limits.
Surveillance video, cellphone footage, photographs, and witness statements remain central to the case. Authorities have asked anyone who saw the shooting or captured images to come forward, saying even small details could help establish a timeline.
Relatives remembered Amari as a high-school athlete and devoted son from Modesto; Maya as an outgoing third-grader at Aspire Apex Academy who loved to dance, sing, and practice karate, weeks from her ninth birthday; Journey as a curious, gentle third-grader at Commodore Stockton Skills School; and Archuleta as a young man who tried to shield others. Community activist Jasmine Dellafosse was among the wounded.
Stockton has long struggled with high rates of violent crime. City and county leaders called the attack especially devastating because it struck children at a family celebration. Vigils followed. Nearly ten months later, families are still waiting for arrests and a full accounting of why a birthday party became a crime scene.
