On November 29, 2025, a mass shooting during a family event at the Monkey Space event hall killed four people, three of whom were children, and injured thirteen others in the Sherwood Manor neighborhood of Stockton, California, United States. The attack, which may have involved multiple shooters, occurred during a child's birthday party and may have been a targeted gang-related attack. No arrests of suspects have been made.
Background The city of Stockton endured 3,680 violent crimes in 2024, which is almost double the statewide violent crime rate. The area of San Joaquin Valley, where the city is located and the location of the shooting, also had the highest violent crime rate in the state in 2023.
The party was advertised on social media and was planned to run from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT. Between 80 and 100 people gathered at Monkey Space, an event venue at 1955 Lucile Avenue in unincorporated San Joaquin County just outside of Stockton city limits for a 2-year-old girl's birthday party. The venue had reportedly been booked in-person by the girl's mother rather than on Peerspace where it was listed.
Shooting
Shortly before 6:00 p.m. PT, law enforcement were called to the event venue in response to a shooting. The shooting reportedly began just before the birthday cake was to be cut, and began inside the venue, where four of the victims were killed. Authorities believe the gunfire continued outside the venue and that there were multiple shooters.
A father of one of the slain victims reported that his son had been walking over to speak to the rapper MBNel when a masked gunman fired towards the rapper and struck his son once in the chest. Multiple survivors of the attack noted that the only slain adult was killed after hiding his girlfriend and several children inside a closet during the shooting. He was reportedly shot in the neck. Bullets shot during the attack also struck a nearby home and reportedly narrowly missed a man and a dog who were inside as the man worked on his garage door. The man hid with his girlfriend in a backyard shed.
Responding officers arrived at the event venue between six and seven minutes after the first calls came in. However, responding officers received the wrong location of the shooting and some initially responded to a Dairy Queen located next to the event venue. The first officers arrived at Thornton Plaza, where the Dairy Queen was located, in about four minutes.
Victims Four people were killed and 13 others were injured, including at least one critically. The victims were identified as 21-year-old Susano Archuleta, 14-year-old Amari Peterson, and 8-year-olds Maya Lupian and Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero. A community activist, Jasmine Dellafosse, who has a mural in her honor in the city of Stockton, was also injured in the attack.
Dellafosse had previously interned for former Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs and had been inspired to begin community work after one of her best friends was murdered. Dellafosse was noted for her work organizing neighborhood clean-ups by high school-aged children, hosting parties and trunk-or-treating events, and improving playground equipment. The rapper MBNel, who may have been targeted in the attack, was also shot and went into hiding after the shooting.
Investigation The investigation is being led by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, as it occurred within their jurisdiction, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), California Department of Justice, Stockton Police Department, San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Investigators believe that the shooting was a targeted attack and that there may have been multiple shooters, but stopped short of saying that the attack was gang-related, although San Joaquin County sheriff Patrick Withrow did not rule it out. However, in parole documents for one of the arrested men, investigators alleged that multiple gang factions were present at the party. Stockton city leaders called the attack gang-related. Withrow said that interviews with witnesses and survivors of the attack did not yield much information about the descriptions of the assailants, but said that he understood that people's main priority was to stay alive. Withrow said he didn't "want to say" whether or not witnesses were withholding information, but said that he had "been hoping for more information on this right now". Investigators also located firearms on the roof of the venue, but had not determined if the firearms were used in the attack. In an update by the sheriff on December 9, he said over 50 shell casings were found at the scene, and they determined that at least five firearms were used and that they were working to determine if anyone at the party returned fire. Withrow also noted that witnesses said that the shooters wore face coverings and dark clothing, but that there was no information about possible getaway vehicles.
After the shooting, the FBI offered $50,000 for information that resulted in arrests or convictions. The ATF later offered an additional $25,000 in reward money. Two men who were present at the shooting, including the father of the child whose birthday was being celebrated, were arrested for suspicion of violating parole, but are not suspected to have been involved in the crime.
The arrested father was later charged with assault with a firearm, possession of an assault rifle, possession of high-capacity magazines, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, criminal street gang activity, domestic violence with corporal injury, ammunition violations, and numerous firearms and enhancement allegations, and a felony count of parole-revocation. The man had also previously admitted to being affiliated with the Sureños gang and was classified by Stockton police as being an active member of the Asian Boyz and Muddy Boyz gangs. The man was outfitted with a GPS ankle monitor as part of his parole and it indicated that he spent more than five hours at the event venue and additional time across the street. The local district attorney's office alleged that he had hosted the birthday party and knew that gang members would be in attendance at the party. The second man was identified as being an uncle of the child whose birthday was being celebrated was also a known rapper. The man was charged with violating the parole condition which prohibited him from being within 300 feet of places where children gather for convictions of child abuse, child endangerment and corporal injury from 2021. At the time of his arrest he was also wanted for failing to make a court appearance for charges for traffic violations. The man was also accused of violating part of his parole conditions which prohibited him from being in contact with known gang members, in this case his contact with the child's father. The man plead no contest to the parole violation and was sentenced to 180 days in jail with his defense attorney saying that he was in "no way" involved in the shooting nor did he have a relationship with the shooters, but that he just "wants to put this stuff behind him".
The name "Monkey Space" was not formally established and did not appear on state or county business license lists. The owner of the property that was being leased said that he had leased the property to Vertical Compass LLC, an umbrella company which ran several businesses at the location, for office space and video creative purposes and that the company running a banquet hall at the property was "illegal". On November 5, 2025, the county had received a complaint that a business at the location was operating without the necessary permits and they said that complaint was still under investigation. A spokesperson for the county said that the county had "never received a request to operate any business at that location", but the owner of Vertical Compass LLC disputed that. Vertical Compass LLC said that it had mistakenly sent a business application to the city of Stockton, but after realizing the mistake had applied as a non-profit through the county and got confirmation in October that the application was received.
On January 17, 2026, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office released two surveillance photos of two vehicles they suspected to be involved with the shooting. The two photos showed a white and silver car. No license plates nor location of the vehicles in the photos were provided. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office announced on February 4 that they had recovered the two vehicles, a white Honda Accord and a gray Volkswagen, and were processing them for evidence. On April 1, Withrow released an update about the investigation, stating that he was expecting arrests of suspects in "a couple of months" and that he was pleased with the proceeds of the investigation. Withrow also said that investigators were in the process of finishing a collection of digital evidence which would be submitted in a written report to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Reactions and aftermath
Community and business The owner of the building said that he was aware that Vertical Compass LLC hosted small events at the property, but not large parties, and had never heard of the name "Monkey Space". The owner also said that he had told the owner of Vertical Compass LLC that he planned on ending his lease at the property prior to the shooting and said that there had not been any incidents at the location since he gained ownership of the property in 2018. After the shooting, the owner of Vertical Compass LLC said that he feared being caught up "gang politics" and was considering not reopening the business.
The woman who organized the party said that multiple of her family members and friends were shot during the incident, including her daughter's father whose two nieces were killed in the attack. The woman apologized to the attendees of the party and said that she "just wanted all my family to come together". The woman described seeing bleeding children on the floor after the attack and said that it caused her great pain. On December 19, 2025, MBNel broke his silence after going into hiding after the shooting in a social media post in which he expressed his condolences to the victims of the shooting.
A makeshift memorial was created with dozens of flower bouquets, candles and other items. Nonprofit organizations delivered clothes and food boxes, and offered mental health counseling. Singer-songwriter Burna Boy reached out to Stockton vice mayor Jason Lee and through him offered to cover the funeral costs of the slain victims. On December 3, 2025, two vigils were held to honor the victims killed in the attack. The first vigil was an annual vigil organized by the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office since 2002 to honor victims of violent crime which was held at Weber Point. Later the same day the Greater Christ Temple held a vigil near the site of the shooting which emphasized mental health support and unity among community members.