JEWELRY BUSINESS TARGETED YESTERDAY. STOCKTON POLICE HAVE NOT RELEASED ANY DETAILS ABOUT THIS INVESTIGATION, OTHER THAN THEY BELIEVE THE SHOOTING WAS TARGETED. A REGULAR SUNDAY AFTERNOON TURNED VIOLENT IN SECONDS. YESTERDAY WE WERE WORKING AND I WAS WORKING IN A WATCH FOR A FAMILY THAT HAS SPENT DECADES IN THE JEWELRY BUSINESS. THE DAY WAS SHATTERED BY GUNFIRE LIKE THAT LONGTIME STOCKTON RESIDENT SALVADOR CERVANTES DESCRIBES THE CHAOS. THERE WAS AN EXCHANGE OF FIRE BETWEEN MY SONS AND THEM, BETWEEN MY SON. SO PRACTICALLY, MY SON IS THE ONE THAT SAVED MY LIFE. FOR THE SECOND TIME. SO I’M PRETTY MUCH BLESSED THAT HE WAS AROUND AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME. POLICE HAVE NOT CONFIRMED THOSE DETAILS, BUT THEY DID CONFIRM TWO MEN WERE KILLED AND ONE WOMAN WAS INJURED. FOR CERVANTES, THE VIOLENCE IS HAUNTINGLY SIMILAR. IN 2012, HIS FATHER WAS SHOT AND KILLED WHILE SELLING JEWELRY AT THE FLEA MARKET. MY FATHER? YEAH, HE DIED IN THAT INCIDENT. THEY JUST. THEY JUST KILLED HIM. PRETTY MUCH. THEY DIDN’T EVEN ASK OR NOTHING AT THAT TIME. THEY JUST CAME UP TO HIM AND THEY JUST SHOT HIM. AND THEY HAD ME AT GUNPOINT AT THAT TIME. SO I COULDN’T DO MUCH OF ANYTHING. A DECADE LATER, THE TRAUMA CONTINUED. AFTER ROBBERS TARGETED THE BUSINESS AGAIN, THIS TIME AT HOME. 2022 THEY CAME TO MY HOUSE. THE ROBBERS CAME TO THE HOUSE TO DO THE SAME THING. THEY CAME OVER BECAUSE I USED TO GO TO THE GALT MARKET, SO I WOULD TRANSPORT MY MERCHANDISE. SO I’M ASSUMING THEY ALREADY. THEY HAD BEEN WATCHING ME OR FOLLOWING ME, AND THEY DECIDED TO DO THAT AT MY HOUSE. AFTER YEARS OF LOSS, CERVANTES SAYS HE’S FRUSTRATED WITH WHAT HE CALLS A LACK OF FOLLOW UP FROM STOCKTON POLICE. THEY NEVER DO MUCH OF ANYTHING, I WOULD SAY BECAUSE I HAVEN’T HEARD FROM THEM SINCE THEY KILLED MY DAD. THEY HAVEN’T SAID, HEY, WE GOT THIS SUSPECT THAT WAS INVOLVED IN YOUR DAD’S. DEAD. STILL, 24 HOURS AFTER THE LATEST SHOOTING. HE SAYS WALKING AWAY ISN’T AN OPTION. THAT’S WHY I’M HERE, TRYING TO CLEAN UP AND. BUY MURALS. RIGHT. THE GLASSES AGAIN. PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER AND ALL THAT STUFF. SO IT’S PRETTY INTENSE. POLICE HAVE NOT CONFIRMED IF THE TWO PEOPLE THAT WERE SHOT AND KILLED OUT HERE YESTERDAY WERE SUSPECTED ROBBERS. IN STOCKTON, MARICELA DE LA CRUZ KCRA THREE NEWS. STOCKTON POLICE HAVE NOT SAID WHETHER THIS WAS AN ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, HOW MANY
‘I threw myself on the floor’: Stockton jewelry business owner recounts flea market shooting
Updated: 8:07 PM PST Jan 19, 2026
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A violent shooting erupted at a Stockton flea market on Sunday, leaving two men dead and a woman injured, as described by Salvador Cervantes, a longtime resident and jewelry business owner.”Yesterday, we were working, and I was working on a watch,” Cervantes said, recalling the moment the day was shattered by gunfire. “When all of a sudden, I hear this gunfire coming from places.”Cervantes recounted the terrifying moment when an armed individual walked out of his booth. “This individual came, was walking out of my booth with the gun pointing, and I threw myself on the floor when I saw him,” he said. “There was an exchange of fire between my son and them. My son is the one who saved my life for the second time, so I’m pretty much blessed that he was around again for the second time.”While police have not confirmed these details, they did confirm that two men were killed and one woman was injured in the incident.For Cervantes, the violence is hauntingly familiar. In 2012, his father was shot and killed while selling jewelry at the same flea market. “They just killed him pretty much. They didn’t even ask for anything that time. They just came up to him, and they just shot him, and they had me at gunpoint, so I couldn’t do anything,” Cervantes said.A decade later, the trauma continued when robbers targeted his business again, this time at his home. “In 2022, they came to my house to do the same thing. They came over because I used to go to the Galt flea market, so I would transport my merchandise, so I’m assuming they had been watching me or following me, and they decided to do that at my house,” Cervantes explained.After years of loss, Cervantes expressed frustration with what he perceives as a lack of follow-up from Stockton police. “They don’t do much of anything, I’d say, because I haven’t heard from them since they killed my dad. They haven’t said, ‘hey, we got this suspect who was involved in your dad’s death,'” he said.Despite the recent shooting, Cervantes remains determined to continue his business. “I’m here trying to clean up and buy the glasses again and put them back together again, so it’s pretty intense,” he said.Stockton police have not confirmed if the two people shot and killed were suspected robbers, nor have they stated whether this was an attempted robbery, how many suspects were involved, or if anyone is in custody.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A violent shooting erupted at a Stockton flea market on Sunday, leaving two men dead and a woman injured, as described by Salvador Cervantes, a longtime resident and jewelry business owner.
“Yesterday, we were working, and I was working on a watch,” Cervantes said, recalling the moment the day was shattered by gunfire. “When all of a sudden, I hear this gunfire coming from places.”
Cervantes recounted the terrifying moment when an armed individual walked out of his booth.
“This individual came, was walking out of my booth with the gun pointing, and I threw myself on the floor when I saw him,” he said. “There was an exchange of fire between my son and them. My son is the one who saved my life for the second time, so I’m pretty much blessed that he was around again for the second time.”
While police have not confirmed these details, they did confirm that two men were killed and one woman was injured in the incident.
For Cervantes, the violence is hauntingly familiar. In 2012, his father was shot and killed while selling jewelry at the same flea market.
“They just killed him pretty much. They didn’t even ask for anything that time. They just came up to him, and they just shot him, and they had me at gunpoint, so I couldn’t do anything,” Cervantes said.
A decade later, the trauma continued when robbers targeted his business again, this time at his home.
“In 2022, they came to my house to do the same thing. They came over because I used to go to the Galt flea market, so I would transport my merchandise, so I’m assuming they had been watching me or following me, and they decided to do that at my house,” Cervantes explained.
After years of loss, Cervantes expressed frustration with what he perceives as a lack of follow-up from Stockton police.
“They don’t do much of anything, I’d say, because I haven’t heard from them since they killed my dad. They haven’t said, ‘hey, we got this suspect who was involved in your dad’s death,'” he said.
Despite the recent shooting, Cervantes remains determined to continue his business.
“I’m here trying to clean up and buy the glasses again and put them back together again, so it’s pretty intense,” he said.
Stockton police have not confirmed if the two people shot and killed were suspected robbers, nor have they stated whether this was an attempted robbery, how many suspects were involved, or if anyone is in custody.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
