With rise of shootings in Fresno, community members come together hoping for change
Amid a “crisis” of shootings and killings in Fresno this year, residents from the southwest side of the city gathered Friday evening for a town hall at the Hinton Community Center with a message: Stop the violence.
Joby Jones, a project manager and director of Fresno Street Saints, led a march on neighborhood avenues to the Hinton Community Center.
At least 100 people joined, among them being officers from the Fresno Police Department, local leaders and community members.
“There has been a lot of shootings, not just west Fresno but in the city of Fresno,” Jones said. “We just want to make sure we address our community, see who is willing to step up into a leadership role and begin to address some of these issues, and just come to a common understanding and bring some unity back.”
More than 400 shootings have taken place in Fresno this year and at least 37 of them resulted in homicides, according to police.
The latest homicide came on Wednesday when a Fresno man was shot to death and a woman was wounded.
The shooting took place at an apartment at San Joaquin and Modoc avenues in the southwest portion of the city.
Deputy Chief Mark Salazar, who was recently promoted, told the community the coronavirus pandemic has affected the youth because they don’t have anywhere to turn because of the shutdown.
“What are they doing? They’re in the streets, that is what is happening,” he said. “I think we have a crisis in the city and it’s in southwest Fresno.”
On Saturday, Salazar, officers and community leaders took 41 youths from Gaston Middle School and Hinton programs to go shopping at Macy’s.
Jones said he just wants the community to be safe for everyone and hopes this is the start of making that happen.
“There is a need to make sure our community is accessible to make our community thrive,” he said. “Make sure our kids be a part of something special and be a part of something different.
“They’re looking for direction and guidance.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
