Officials insist the attack appears targeted,
not random, but that offers little
comfort while the gunman remains at large.
Stockton’s leaders,
many of whom carry their own scars from violence,
pleaded with residents to come forward, to refuse to accept this as normal.
In a city already branded one of
California’s most dangerous,
a child’s birthday party has become another
crime scene — and a test of whether
a grieving community can still believe in justice.