CA - Elvira Campos, 10, shot to death in her North Highlands home, 19 May 2013

"The shooters, standing outside the front door, absolutely knew they were shooting into a room with a child," Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos said.

Ramos added it was being explored whether the girl's death is linked to a shooting April 20 at a children's birthday party a mile away, in which a 10-year-old victim, Eric Raya-Ramirez, was shot five times.

"He lived, but the crime remains unsolved. We have nothing definitive to establish a connection, but that may be why Elvira's family could have been targeted," Ramos said, citing a mentality of reciprocal assaults.

He added that neither Elvira nor her migrant worker parents, Ernesto Campos, 47, and Imelda Tinoco, 45, who were wounded in the attack, were gang members.

Ramos said Elivira's 20-year-old brother, however, "has not been forthcoming about any beefs or rivalries he's had with anyone." The sheriff's spokesman said the brother has no criminal record.

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Investigators from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and Citrus Heights police say they believe members of the same Norteño gang subset are responsible for as many as six other violent crimes, including the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Elvira Campos in her North Highlands home in May last year and the near-death of a boy the same age a month before.

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