The Stockton mass shooting that claimed the lives of three children and one adult is back in the national spotlight after the woman who hosted the birthday party—Patrice Williams—broke her silence.
She is offering a harrowing account of what happened that night.
Williams, who had stayed quiet in the immediate aftermath of the November tragedy, is now speaking publicly for the first time. Her emotional retelling paints a devastating picture of the chaos that unfolded inside what was meant to be a joyful family celebration.
“Everybody was getting ready to gather around and start cutting the cake,” she recounted, her voice shaking. “All we heard was gunshots and everybody just dove to the ground. It was unexpected. I don’t know what happened… I’m lost for words.”
Williams said she initially believed the sound was party balloons bursting.
“I actually thought it was my balloons popping,” she said. “But it was gunshots.”
What followed, she described, was a scene no parent should ever witness.
“My sister got shot. My cousin got shot. My son’s friend got shot. Three of my friends got shot,” she said. “My friend’s baby dad got shot and killed.”
Investigators later confirmed that a group of shooters opened fire, injuring 11 people in addition to the four killed. Local officials have said the attack was “gang-related,” though Williams insists the violence was not connected to her family or guests.
“We were all inside. Everybody was getting ready to cut the cake,” she said. “It was just a misunderstanding… I don’t even know what was going on.”
Williams, a mother of three who works with young people at the AAO Life Center, said the most painful memory was feeling powerless as children lay bleeding on the ground.
“I see kids all day. I help kids,” she said through tears. “So for me to see kids on the floor bleeding—and I can’t help them—it was killing me inside.”
She also issued an emotional apology to the mothers who lost their children that night.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry to all the mothers out there that lost their kids at my birthday party.”
Authorities have confirmed that multiple shooters were involved, though no arrests have been announced. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate, calling the attack “a coordinated act of violence.”
As Williams continues to grapple with the aftermath, she offered a final plea to parents everywhere: “Try not to be in public all the time with your kids, because anything can happen—and a bullet does not have a name.”
The renewed attention to her testimony has reignited calls for stronger community protection in Stockton, a city long plagued by gun violence.
