Homicide on Sunnyslope Drive 

December 11, 2023 – Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office officials report that just after 12:30 A.M. on Friday, December 8, 2023, deputies responded to a shooting at an apartment on the 6600 block of Sunnyslope Drive.  Upon their arrival, they discovered a 35-year-old male, later identified as Christopher Saunders, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.  He was lying just outside of an apartment.  Deputies administered first-aid until Sacramento Metro Fire personnel arrived, but Saunders was ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene.

Homicide detectives and Crime Scene Investigators responded, interviewed witnesses, and gathered evidence. Detectives contacted the residents inside the apartment and learned Saunders drove there in an attempt to locate his estranged wife.  When Saunders arrived, he left his car running in the parking lot and banged on the front door multiple times.  The apartment was occupied by Saunders’ estranged wife and her friends who lived there: an adult male, an adult female, and minor children.  When they answered the door, Saunders rushed into the apartment, grabbed his estranged wife, and commanded her to leave with him.  When she refused, the adults inside the apartment directed Saunders to leave.  Saunders then became involved in a physical altercation with several of the family members, including a 15-year-old.  The adult male resident then produced a firearm, which was legally possessed, and shot Saunders.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office was advised and made the preliminary decision to release the adult male under the presumption of a justifiable homicide.  The District Attorney’s Office will make a final determination at a later date.  There is no further information available at this time.

Source: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office