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California sheriff calls deadly shooting at Airbnb rental a ‘bloodbath’

ASSOCIATED PRESS / OCT. 31
                                Contra Costa County Sheriff deputies investigate a multiple shooting on Halloween at a rental home in Orinda, Calif. on Oct. 31.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS / OCT. 31

Contra Costa County Sheriff deputies investigate a multiple shooting on Halloween at a rental home in Orinda, Calif. on Oct. 31.

ORINDA, Calif. >> 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.”

Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston said today 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.”

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.

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