By Chelsea Phua and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com
A 14-year-old Nevada girl who was killed in what authorities said was a random shooting at an Arden Arcade party on Sunday night was looking forward to joining the cheerleading team as a high school freshman, her mother said.
"Dancing came easy to her," Nikia Johnson said during a phone interview from her home in Sparks, Nev., this morning, talking about her only daughter, Lanajah Nachelle Dupree (left).
Dupree had a 9-year-old brother, and she made breakfast for him, walked him home from school and took him skating.
Another teen, 17, was shot in the arm and upper body during Sunday's violence and is expected to survive, authorities say.
The shooting occurred after 10 p.m. during a party for people younger that 21 at Venue 4 Rent at 2906 Auburn Blvd. When deputies arrived at 10:17 p.m. they found Dupree lying in the doorway of the party venue. She had been shot once in the upper body.
Dupree died shortly after being transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman Tim Curran said about 200 people were partying in the hall when an argument started.
Security guards hired for the event started moving attendees outside in an attempt to calm the crowd. The shooter, described as a male wearing dark clothing, was standing near the street.
Detectives believe that the shooter had attended the party, Curran said, but the Venue 4 Rent manager, Kevin Kennedy, disputed that.
He said the promoter had hired armed security guards, who had denied entry to some "thug-type individuals" earlier that night.
Authorities say the gunman fired his weapon into the air before shooting into the crowd, which had moved to the parking lot, Curran said. The assailant was last seen walking west on Auburn Boulevard.
Authorities say they don't think the shooter targeted the victims, and it is unclear what fueled the argument or if it was related to the shooting, Curran said.
Curran said authorities don't know if the suspect is younger than 21 because they are unsure how closely security personnel had checked IDs.
Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (916) 874-5057 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.
Staff writer Matt Kawahara, researcher Pete Basofin and online content developer Nathaniel Miller contributed to this report.
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