Hours after Saturday’s mass shooting at a children’s birthday party in north Stockton left four people dead and many more wounded, the city was still trying to comprehend what had unfolded. The shooting on Lucile Avenue — which claimed the lives of three children and one adult — left families, neighbors and emergency responders in the chaotic aftermath.
About 6 p.m., as police taped off the scene, the public had already turned online for clarity, updates or simply a place to process their shock.
Countless residents found something else: a torrent of victim-blaming, racist stereotypes, misinformation and dismissive commentary that spread across neighborhood pages, comment sections and social media threads with startling speed…