An 18-year-old student was shot dead at his own graduation ceremony in California

A California community has been left in shock following a fatal shooting that brought a high school graduation ceremony to a devastating end, leaving one student dead and three others injured, including an 11-year-old child.

The Fairfield Police Department confirmed the shooting occurred on the evening of Wednesday, 3 June, at the conclusion of a graduation ceremony for Sem Yeto Continuation High School in Fairfield, California. The event was being held at a Fairfield High School facility and had drawn approximately 1,000 attendees.

Victims and injuries

An 18-year-old was fatally shot at the scene. Three further individuals — aged 11, 20, and 25 — sustained non-fatal gunshot wounds. Authorities have not publicly named any of the victims. According to WFMY News 2, the 18-year-old was still wearing his graduation robe when he was killed.

KCRA was told that the deceased student had worked as a custodian on a work-study programme at the school, though the outlet chose not to publish his name out of respect for his family.

Colleagues and community pay their respects

Co-workers gathered at a makeshift memorial erected at the Sem Yeto High School satellite campus to honour the young man. "He was a good worker. He is a funny guy. He did a really good job," fellow custodian Shawn Kalista told KCRA.

Mourners at the memorial left chalk tributes on the ground, one of which read: "Fly high, angel. Forever rest in peace."

Investigation under way, shooter still at large

As of Friday afternoon, no person of interest had been publicly named by authorities. Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy confirmed to ABC 10 that police are reviewing both mobile phone footage and surveillance camera recordings as part of the ongoing investigation.

"Sadly, [the shooter] got away, but they will get him," Moy said. She also issued a direct appeal to the suspect: "Young man, turn yourself in. It is not going to be good for you to keep running, so turn yourself in."

Appeal for information

The Fairfield Police Department is urging anyone with information relating to the incident to contact investigators via the dedicated tip line at 707-428-7345 or by emailing juneincidenttipsfairfield.ca.gov.