Chico >> Detectives are continuing their search for suspects and evidence of a shooting at a party Saturday morning that left a Chico State University student dead and two other people with gunshot wounds.

Two people were also stabbed and one person was hit in the face with a bottle.

At about 1:20 a.m. Saturday, authorities were called out to a shooting in the area of West Seventh and Oak streets.

Police said a brawl broke out near a party at an apartment complex on the 1100 block of West Seventh Street that resulted with an unknown suspect firing a gun at several people.

It appears the incident began when a group attempted to join the party and got into an argument with guests, Sgt. Greg Keeney said Monday. The uninvited group started an altercation, which then moved to a parking lot across the street and turned into a fight between 30 to 60 people.

“It became a big free-for-all,” he said.

Although the initial fight began when two groups confronted each other, once it moved out of the party, it turned into a melee, Sgt. Matt Madden said.

In the chaos, Chico State senior Travis Taylor Powell, 22, was struck by gunfire.

Officers with the California Highway Patrol were first to arrive at the scene and found Powell injured, Keeney said Monday. CHP rendered aid and shortly after the Chico Fire Department initiated CPR on the victim.

Powell was rushed to Enloe Medical Center, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Four other victims — two who were shot and two who were stabbed — have since been released from the hospital.

The four surviving victims are from Oroville and Gridley, and are not believed to be Chico State students, Madden said.

It was not immediately known if they were students at other schools in the area.

Based on the scene, Chico police believe there was only one shooter involved in Saturday’s incident, Madden said. There is still a high volume of evidence to go through, but it appears it was a single person firing.

Although a vehicle near the scene was hit and there was a round found by a neighboring building, the suspect wasn’t shooting at random, he said.

“It wasn’t just someone spraying bullets — he was shooting at intended targets,” Madden said.

On Monday, Chico detectives didn’t have any solid leads on the shooter, but were continuing to interview people who were involved or may have witnessed the fight.

Detectives have a good grasp on who was involved, how it started and “how it went down,” but it was a chaotic scene, Madden said.

Police estimate that there were at least 100 people attending the party, and are asking for help from anyone who was there, especially people who have photos or videos from the party.

Several people involved have provided some information, but it’s clear that there were a lot more people involved and that the incident was witnessed by others at the party, Madden said. Detectives are hoping that all those people reach out.

Detectives hadn’t received a lot of information by Monday.

Keeney said detectives will be looking at assaults that occurred at other parties the same night to see if the same group who crashed the party was going around causing problems prior to the shooting.

Anyone who was at the party is asked to call the Chico Police Department’s detectives bureau at 897-5820. Callers may remain anonymous and people can also speak with a detective in confidence.

Madden said he hopes people are “fed up with violence” and that witnesses step forward to help police put a stop to it.

Saturday’s incidents could have resulted in more people killed or injured, Keeney said. There is a shooter out there “who clearly doesn’t care of wounding or killing.”

Contact reporter Almendra Carpizo at 896-7760.