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By Kathleen Ronayne

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. 鈥� The mass shooting earlier this month that police say was a聽gun battle聽between rival gangs that left聽six dead聽and 12 wounded shook the downtown core of California鈥檚 capital 鈥� and created another challenge for a city trying to redefine itself as a destination for more than just government workers.

In recent years, downtown Sacramento has benefited from billions of dollars of development but has been rattled by rising crime, protests resulting in property damage and an economic drubbing caused by the pandemic. Now, the city is reeling from the aftermath of the April 3 shooting, when at least five gunmen fired 100 shots as people left bars and nightclubs.

The violence just blocks from the capitol is a reminder of the challenges that many U.S. urban centers are facing as crime and homelessness persist despite revitalization efforts.

Though Sacramento is home to more than 500,000 people, it鈥檚 considered sleepy by California standards. The derisive nickname 鈥淐owtown鈥� grew out of its agricultural roots.

Today, downtown is at the center of the city鈥檚 efforts to become an entertainment and food destination. Local officials have worked to rebrand the city as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Farm to Fork Capital,鈥� a nod to a large number of well-regarded restaurants that get ingredients from the region鈥檚 many farms.

A major part of the revitalization is a six-block strip of K Street anchored by a renovated convention center and the Golden 1 Center 鈥� home to the NBA鈥檚 Sacramento Kings and a regular stop for major concert tours. The shooting happened on a block that鈥檚 home to high-end nightclubs but also dotted by vacant buildings that formerly housed coffee shops and restaurants.

Police have made two arrests connected to the shootings, but no one has been charged with homicide. The violence 鈥渃ame at a really pivotal moment for downtown,鈥� said Sacramento Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area.

鈥淚t鈥檚 causing me to sort of reflect on where we go from here 鈥� and as a city, not just as downtown,鈥� she said.

A century ago, K Street was a bustling, diverse center of activity. But the strip struggled as people moved into the suburbs 鈥� giving way to decades of failed revival efforts, including construction of a mall in the late 1960s and the launch of a light-rail line in the 1980s.

A fresh wave of investment came to the area about a decade ago, with new businesses opening on K Street as part of an effort to revive downtown after the financial crisis. The Golden 1 Center arrived in 2016, helping generate $6.7 billion in nearby investment and spurring the debuts of 150 new businesses, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership nonprofit business group.

Then the pandemic hit, sending many of downtown鈥檚 100,000 workers home and forcing some businesses to close. Now about 45,000 people work downtown daily, according to the nonprofit.

As employment fell, crime rose. Aggravated assaults, burglaries and vandalism were up in 2020 and 2021 compared to the five previous years for a roughly 100-square-block area that includes the capitol and the arena, according to Sacramento police crime data.

The city鈥檚 central hub has also served as the epicenter for protests focusing on racial justice and police misconduct. Protesters in 2018 shut down a downtown freeway entrance and blocked fans from entering the NBA arena after Sacramento police聽shot and killed a young Black man. Then demonstrations in 2020 over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis swept the city. Many聽downtown properties聽were vandalized and some were ransacked.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of different realities kind of hit downtown in different waves,鈥� said Dion Dwyer, director of public space services for the business group.

Now Sacramento is among the ranks of cities recovering from recent mass shootings. Since 2017, there have been 133 mass shootings in the U.S., according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg repeatedly said people should continue to feel comfortable going downtown.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not one or the other鈥� when it comes to enjoying the city鈥檚 entertainment offerings and feeling safe, he said last week.

Rachel Muro, a manager of the locally owned Capital Books several storefronts away from where the shooting occurred, said Sacramento鈥檚 downtown has problems like any city鈥檚 but that people should not avoid it. The bookstore鈥檚 owners recently opened a board game cafe just around the corner.

鈥淲e believe in this part of town enough to continue to help make it thrive,鈥� Muro said.

Elsewhere on the block, the area鈥檚 troubles are obvious, with many office and restaurant spaces vacant. Homelessness downtown and elsewhere in Sacramento has been a vexing problem.

Last week the City Council voted to place a measure on the November ballot requiring the city build to more shelter beds and ban encampments on public land. Valenzuela, the councilwoman, opposed the plan and said it was inappropriate to debate that proposal so soon after the tragedy.

Crystal Sanchez, president of the Sacramento Homeless Union, said homeless people live downtown because the area has street lighting and lots of activity and plenty of alcoves near businesses.

鈥淧eople are here because there are coves for protection,鈥� she said.

At a brewery a few blocks from the shooting site, co-workers enjoying drinks reflected on whether the shooting changed their perspectives of the city.

Braden Kolb, who was at a downtown bar for a friend鈥檚 30th birthday the night before the shooting, said he patronizes downtown about once a month and that the shooting 鈥渋s not going to change my behavior.鈥�

But his friend Jason Slieter said the incident made him wonder if Sacramento is the right place to raise his family. He felt a sense of heaviness downtown, he said, when arriving to work after the six people were killed.

鈥淚t definitely felt like something had changed,鈥� he said.

Editor鈥檚 note: Associated Press journalists Adam Beam in Sacramento and Camille Fassett in Oakland contributed to this story.