Sheriff calls deadly shooting at Airbnb rental a ‘bloodbath’
ORINDA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in the San Francisco Bay Area are calling a shooting that left five dead during a Halloween party at an Airbnb rental a “bloodbath,” where several partygoers were armed and some showed up looking for trouble.
Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston said Friday that he knows residents in the plush San Francisco suburb of Orinda are on edge after the massive party on Oct. 31 and wanted to provide an update, although he could not yet say what sparked the shooting and who shot whom.
Livingston said there is a wealth of evidence to process, including casings that littered the floors and countertops of the four-bedroom home with vaulted ceilings that hosted roughly 100 people that night.
“In my 32 years of law enforcement, I have never seen a homicide scene like this, ever,” he said. “It was a bloodbath inside the home.”
Members of rival gangs from San Francisco and Marin City were among those at the party, he said, which was advertised on social media.
Livingston said that an altercation started in the kitchen of the house, and witnesses told investigators someone had tried to steal someone else’s property, which may have precipitated the shooting.
Livingston said there were “multiple” shooters at the party.
He said investigators have reviewed video from that night and saw people tucking guns into their pants as they slipped past a front-door security guard who was drinking from a bottle of Hennessy.
He said some of the people went to the party “with intent of causing harm and conflict.”
Five people were injured, which is one more than previously reported. Three had gunshot wounds but one had severe injuries from jumping more than 30 feet (9 meters) from a balcony to escape gunfire.
Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco and Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Sausalito and Richmond; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo and Hercules, died in the shooting.
Livingston said while they arrested five people, authorities are looking for others. He said the party was filled with people carrying firearms, including two of the deceased.
Authorities arrested four people on Thursday on suspicion of murder and conspiracy. They are Lebraun Tyree Wallace, 28, of San Mateo; Shamron Joshua Mitchell, 30, of Antioch; and Jaquez Deshawn Sweeney and Jason D. Iles, both 20 and of Marin City. All four were being held without bail.
Party promoter Devin Isiah Williamson, 21, of Vallejo, was arrested as an accessory and was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky has since said that the San Francisco-based company was taking steps to stop unauthorized parties in the wake of the deadly shooting.
