Gunmen Kill Man, Wound Six At Toddlers' Party In California

[May 12, 2014]  (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a man and wounded six people including a seven-year-old child when they opened fire on a toddler's birthday party in California, in what police said on Sunday might have been a gang-related shooting.

The police said California gang and homicide detectives were investigating the incident, in which several men armed with guns approached the gathering in Sacramento's Peregrine Park on Saturday afternoon and opened fire.

The dead man was in his 20s. The wounded are all expected to survive, the police said, adding they suspected a possible gang link. They did not release the names of the victims.

"Our gang detectives were called out so we are going to try to get to the bottom of that," Police Officer Doug Morse told local media during a briefing at the scene.

Dozens of witnesses were in the park at the time of the incident, Morse said. They described hearing dozens of shots and watching people dive for cover under picnic tables and playground equipment.

"I just dove to the ground. There was about 25-30 shots that rang out, everyone was screaming and yelling and just running all hysterical," one witness told CBS affiliate KMAX-TV.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Gareth Jones)

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