This evening's public safety mess

There was some sort of flash mob event at Howe Park this afternoon, an unauthorized event that apparently attracted an extremely large group of people. There were wall-to-wall people and wall-to-wall cars at the park, in the adjoining neighborhoods, at Howe School and at Home Depot at Howe and Cottage. According to a neighborhood resident who had chatted with people on their way to the gathering, it may have been an informal Sac State response to the UC Davis Picnic Day. Honestly, though, the Newsroom Elves here in our weekend News Room do not know the whole story and insist on patience until the Sheriff's people finish their investigation. 

A street scene with many parked cars, a large tree, and street signs for Bell Street and Laredo Road.
Adjacent neighborhood streets were full of cars parked by people attending the unscripted event

Yes, the Sheriff's people. The Sheriff himself has said though he doesn't have enough Deputies to handle 911 calls,  he fears nasty budget cuts are coming. Tonight his people had to react to a serious situation. Once they got wind of the goings-on, they showed up with their helicopter and squad cars. At some point later in the evening,  it seems there were shots fired in the Home Depot parking lot across the street. A large crowd of people plus guns fired: that's a terrible recipe for public safety. Naturally, the crepe-hanging news media showed up tonight to make it look like our community is a lost-cause, a gangbanger ghetto. What a mess!

We are, of course grateful to the Sheriff's Deputies and other first responders who may have been there to protect and serve the community. It will no doubt take a while to put all the facts together and determine next steps. We will do our best to stay on top of this for our readers.

A large crowd of people gathered in a park, near a baseball diamond, surrounded by trees and green space.
Thousand of people descended on the park. No plan, no permits, no warning.
A person walks down a street lined with parked cars and trees under a blue sky, approaching a white fence.
Neighborhoods and nearby businesses were caught off guard
The image shows a nighttime scene with multiple emergency vehicles and flashing lights on a street, indicating an emergency situation.
What started out as some sort of mass picnic eventually became a crime scene
A large crowd of people gathered in a park, near a baseball diamond, surrounded by trees and green space.
A person walks down a street lined with parked cars and trees under a blue sky, approaching a white fence.
The image shows a nighttime scene with multiple emergency vehicles and flashing lights on a street, indicating an emergency situation.