The Nigerian singer-songwriter known as Burna Boy will foot the funeral expenses for all four victims killed in Saturday’s mass shooting at a toddler’s birthday party in Stockton, Calif.
Three of the victims were children aged 8, 9 and 14, while the fourth was 21.
Initially 11 people were reported wounded, at least one critically. On Tuesday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office upped that number to 13 after learning that two additional survivors had been grazed by bullets and gone to the hospital on their own, according to local NBC affiliate KCRA.
The news hit Burna Boy like a gut punch. After hearing about the shooting on a radio show, the performer got in touch with Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee via music exec Wack 100, The Stockton Record reported Tuesday.
“When I heard about the children murdered in Stockton, my heart broke,” Burna Boy said in a statement through Lee. “After hearing the story on The Breakfast Club, I reached out to Wack 100 and connected with Jason Lee because no family should ever face this kind of pain alone. I wanted to do whatever I could to support these parents as they begin the long process of healing.”
Friends and family were poised to cut the 2-year-old birthday girl’s cake at Monkey Space banquet hall on Saturday when bullets started raining down just before 6 p.m., the tot’s mother, Patrice Williams, tearfully recounted. At first she thought it was party balloons popping, she said.
The attack started in the banquet hall and spilled out into the street. Police said it was “targeted” and may have had something to do with gang violence, but didn’t say how they knew. The shooting appeared to stem from “a beef between individuals,” and involved gunmen who “wanted to send a message,” Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi told NBC News.
Police on Tuesday were still seeking suspects and had asked for the public’s help. The FBI has added a $50,000 reward to the $25,000 already being offered by Stockton Crime Stoppers in conjunction with Fugazi and Councilwoman Mariela Ponce.
With News Wire Services
