Five days after 18-year-old Jamario Baker was shot and killed at Fairfield High School following a Sem Yeto High graduation ceremony, police have yet to make an arrest. Baker was still wearing his cap and gown when he was fatally wounded.
Three other victims, ages 11, 20, and 25, were also struck by gunfire.
A Facebook post by Mary Jones, who identified herself as Baker's aunt, stated that the Sem Yeto graduate was protecting his 11-year-old sister when he was shot. "Prayers much needed for my Brother Roderick and family," Jones wrote, sharing a photo of Baker with his father after the graduation.
"You may have heard about the shooting in Fairfield after a graduation ceremony. That was my great nephew that was shot and killed.
Rest in heaven, Jamario. He was protecting his 11-year-old sister when he was shot."
A memorial with balloons and a page for messages was set up Friday in the Fairfield High parking lot near Schafer Stadium. On Saturday evening, the community gathered at Fairfield Civic Center Pond to pray and reflect on Baker's life and support his family.
The Fairfield Police Department reported that the Sem Yeto High graduation on Wednesday was attended by approximately 1,000 people, with hundreds of potential witnesses. Detectives are identifying and interviewing witnesses and following up on leads.
As the investigation is ongoing, no further details have been released.
"In an event like this, when you have such a large-scale incident with a lot of victims and a lot of witnesses to get through, then we usually reach out for mutual aid," said Fairfield Police Officer Michelle Belyea. "I don't know what mutual aid we have already reached out to, but that is something we usually do."
Hope Christian Church in Fairfield has announced a community prayer gathering at the shooting site. The church invites residents to a "Moment of Blessing: Hope, Healing, and Unity" at 3 p.m.
on Friday in the Fairfield High School parking lot. Fairfield Mayor Catherine "Cat" Moy said the pastor of the victim's family is expected to attend.
On Thursday at 5 p.m., many are scheduled to attend the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District Board meeting to demand accountability and ask who requested officers for the Sem Yeto graduation.
The Fairfield Police Department issued a statement Friday attributing the lack of police presence to a communication breakdown between the city and the school district. The department said reports that the district never requested police coverage were "not an accurate characterization." The department maintains a memorandum of understanding with the district to provide officers for events when requested through an established process.
"Through an internal review conducted in coordination with the FSUSD administration, an attempt to make a request was submitted for the Sem Yeto graduation," the department said. "The request was not made through the established channels, and the department was not aware of the request.
As a result, no officers were assigned to the ceremony."
Mayor Moy said she was informed that police would fully staff upcoming graduations at Armijo, Rodriguez, and Fairfield high schools. "Based on the information in this post, it's unclear what occurred," she wrote.
"Clearly, there was a failure of the established process. It's important that we see where that failure occurred so it doesn't happen again."
Some residents questioned why the city, police department, and school district had not held a joint press conference. Moy defended the response, noting that the Fairfield Police Department held a news conference at 9 and 11 p.m.
on Wednesday attended by numerous media outlets. "The police held a press conference, and I've spoken to at least 15 media outlets around the country," she replied.