Attacks lead to central Fresno officer-involved shooting, witnesses say

An officer-involved shooting that happened early Saturday in central Fresno allegedly occurred during a violent scuffle between several people, witnesses said.

The shooting happened before 2 a.m. on Park Avenue just north of Nevada Avenue.

A resident living at a home in the 200 block of North Park Avenue, who requested anonymity over fears of possible reprisals, said the altercation began as a domestic dispute and turned into an all-out brawl before officers arrived.

“These girls came running up to me and said they needed to call 911, so I let them use my phone,” the man said. “Some guy came after them and started abusing one of them over there,” he added, pointing to the sidewalk on the east side of Park.

The witness went on to say that a group of men ran into the fray and started beating the alleged abuser. When one man from the group pulled out a gun, the alleged abuser ran off and the armed man chased him.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer confirmed much of the witness’ account and shed light on a few of the gray areas — though several still remain.

A man was shot, Dyer said, but it isn’t clear who shot him and when.

Dyer said that much of the police account of what happened can be heard on the 911 call. He described it during the news conference:

▪ At 1:42 a.m., police dispatchers received a call from a woman saying her ex-boyfriend had stolen her car and hit her. A few minutes later, the woman told the operator that her ex-boyfriend was coming and handed the phone back to the witness.

▪ At 1:46 a.m., the witness told the operator that the ex-boyfriend “put his hands on” the woman.

A few seconds later, a muffled gun shot was heard on the call, followed by a man saying “It hurts. Dude, I got shot.”

Seconds after that, three gunshots were heard before the caller hung up.

Dyer said that these three shots were fired by a patrol officer.

When the patrol car arrived around 1:46 a.m., the two officers heard one gunshot, Dyer said. One officer got out of the car and moved toward the crowd, while the officer driving the car continued down Park.

Dyer said the driver saw a man holding a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun and chasing another man.

The officer then shined his spotlight on the man who was chasing the alleged abuser. The man stopped, reversed course, and ran at the officer while still holding the gun, Dyer said.

Dyer said the driving officer then fired three shots out of the window while sitting in the patrol car. The armed man slowed down before collapsing on Park Avenue.

Dyer said that the gun was found near the man when officers approached him and began to administer CPR. Ambulance workers took over the resuscitation attempts, and the man was taken to Community Regional Medical Center.

Analysis of the gun found near the victim indicated that the weapon had jammed when someone tried to cock it. The gun was loaded, and two live rounds were stuck inside.

Dyer refused to identify the shooting victim, saying only that he was an 18-year-old man in critical but stable condition.

It was at that point, Dyer said, where the investigation got tricky.

Dyer said that a graduation party was going on at the witness’ home when the two women ran to the house. Once the alleged domestic violence occurred, three men from the party stepped in and began beating the suspected abuser.

Dyer said that it was unclear who fired the shot heard by officers, witnesses and the 911 tape prior to the officer firing three rounds. Police found a loaded .22-caliber revolver with one expired round in the cylinder a few feet from where the man collapsed.

Dyer said the alleged abuser appeared to be unarmed when the three men — at least one of whom was armed — attacked him.

Detectives are still working to determine if it was this shot that injured the man or one of the three fired from the officer’s gun. Because of the man’s medical condition, Dyer said, police don’t yet know the caliber of the bullet inside his abdomen. They expect to know in the next day or two.

The shooting victim was charged with brandishing a firearm in the presence of police, Dyer said.

Police tracked down the alleged abusive ex-boyfriend at his nearby home on College Avenue and arrested him on charges of domestic violence and false imprisonment.

This was the first officer-involved shooting in Fresno since October, Dyer said.

However, it is the second time in three days that a man was shot while citizens intervened during a crime.

On Thursday, a man was shot west of Highway 99 in Fresno after he allegedly entered another man’s home, sat down and started talking to him. The resident retrieved his shotgun and shot the apparent intruder once in the chest, killing him. Police are still investigating exactly what happened between the two men.

Dyer spoke on why he believed the three men who intervened went too far.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with intervening to protect someone,” he said. “But when that individual is armed with a firearm, and — at some point — it goes beyond what is necessary, that is when that person presents himself in danger.”

Said Dyer: “When you have a gunshot fired during the course of that intervention, there’s always the potential for innocent people to be shot and injured or killed.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2015 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Attacks lead to central Fresno officer-involved shooting, witnesses say."