One week after a shooting at a toddler’s birthday party in Stockton that left four people dead, including three children, the father of one of the victims spoke at a news conference on Tuesday. Patrick Peterson, whose 14-year-old son Amari Peterson was among those killed, described his ongoing grief and called for community support.
“I haven’t been able to eat, sleep. I don’t even know what time it is. I barely know what day it is,” Peterson said. “My son is on my mind every day. I feel like he was stripped away from me for nothing.”
Peterson, who works as a barber in Stockton and has five children, said he had changed his life to be a better father and could not understand why his son was killed while attending an event intended to support others in the community.
“I just want my son back,” Peterson added. He also asked for mental health and financial help for his family following the tragedy.
The shooting took place on November 29 at a banquet hall on Lucile Avenue. The victims included Amari Peterson, Maya Lupian (8), Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero (8), and Susano Archuleta (21). Thirteen others were wounded during the incident. Authorities have not made any arrests so far.
During the news conference at Stockton City Hall, which began with a prayer by Rev. William DeArmond, Peterson appealed to anyone with information about the shooters to come forward.
“If you do know who has something to do with this, I hope that you do the right thing,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, if you don’t do the right thing, it’s just going to continue happening. And the next thing you know, death is going to be at your door.”
Vice Mayor Jason Lee organized the event to focus attention on supporting victims’ families and advocating for long-term violence prevention measures in Stockton. Lee shared his own experiences with gun violence: he was shot at age 15 and lost his brother when he was 19.
“This is personal,” Lee said. “There’s no other more important conversation right now than making sure these families get the closure that I was able to get when the person responsible for killing my brother and for shooting me were brought to justice.”
Lee noted that the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation but pointed out challenges caused by what he described as a “no-snitch culture” in Stockton.
“When I got shot, I couldn’t wait to go and testify,” Lee stated. “Call me whatever name you want. My brother’s life was more important than what people thought about me in this community.” He encouraged anyone with information about the case to speak up: “If you know something, don’t be a coward and not come forward and speak, because Amari deserves you to do that.”
Lee also reviewed data showing that nearly all young homicide or shooting victims since he took office were Black or Latino. He criticized past decisions by city officials regarding violence-prevention programs—including ending participation in Advance Peace—and highlighted disparities between police funding and investment in prevention services.
“In 2022, I sent an email…and I said the blood of every child in this community is on the city’s hands if you don’t do something to prevent these type of things from happening,” Lee said.
Nuri Muhammad, former director of Advance Peace’s Stockton program, echoed concerns about underfunding prevention work compared with spending on infrastructure projects.
“If we make an investment in things but don’t make an investment in people, then we’ll always have this type of imbalance,” Muhammad said.
The vice mayor also addressed comments linking local rap culture to gang-related violence: “Hip-hop is a form of art that tells stories in communities that we come from…But the hip-hop that’s happening in Stockton is being used for pure evil – people talking about crimes they’re committing against families.” He urged local musicians not to glorify violence through their work.
Peterson expressed gratitude for prayers and donations but emphasized how difficult recovery will be for his family: “It’s something that I’ve got to live with for the rest of my life.” He asked for continued mental health support and promised future efforts honoring his son aimed at protecting other children: “Whatever I can do…to help prevent this from happening again…I’m willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen.”
