When a masked gunman opened fire at a child’s birthday party in Stockton on Nov. 29, Emmanuel Lopez thought he had escaped the worst night of his life.
The mass shooting left four people dead and 13 injured, including his nine-year-old daughter, who was shot in the head.
A month later, the 33-year-old man was shot to death at an apartment complex in his hometown on Dec. 28 in a shooting that police said may have been gang-related.
Lopez watched as his best friend, Susano Archuleta, died in his arms. The 21-year-old was shot in the neck while trying to protect other partygoers from gunfire, which investigators said came from at least five different weapons.
“My brother died in my arms,” Lopez told the Los Angeles Times after the attack, which left his daughter fighting for her life after being shot in the head.
Lopez was among more than a hundred guests attending a birthday celebration for the two-year-old daughter of Stockton rapper NanoMB when chaos erupted at the Monkey Space event center.
NanoMB remains in custody on a parole violation after a judge ruled in December that his gang background and criminal history outweighed his claim that he was the victim of a shooting.
The 22-year-old rapper, who prosecutors say has ties to both the Asian Boyz and Muddy Boyz gangs, argued that he knowingly allowed gang members such as MBNel to attend his daughter’s birthday party despite being on parole.
San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow revealed that more than 50 rounds were fired in the targeted attack, which killed three children and Archuleta and sent shockwaves through the Stockton community.
According to an update from sheriff’s officials on January 1, 2026, the investigation into the mass shooting remains open and no arrests have been made.
MBNel’s father previously said the gunman targeted his son, who went into hiding in December.
“My deepest condolences go out to the families who had to bury their children and the innocent lives lost,” MBNel wrote on social media. “What happened in Stockton has caused an unimaginable loss to the family.”
Law enforcement officials said there was no indication that Lopez’s death was related to the Stockton mass shooting, despite the time of Lopez’s death and his attendance at the November party.
“At this time, there is no indication that the two shootings are related,” Sheriff’s spokesman Brent told Stocktonia, declining to confirm whether Lopez attended the birthday party.
Stockton has experienced at least ten more shootings since the Thanksgiving weekend massacre, including a fatal incident that killed 17-year-old Noah Juan Auburn at a convenience store days before Lopez’s death.
Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed California Highway Patrol troopers to Stockton as part of a “crime-busting” team targeting repeat offenders in high-crime areas.
