Father thanks Fresno Police for efforts to find ‘big-hearted’ son’s killer
A Fresno father is appreciative of police detectives’ efforts to find the shooter who killed his son at a large gathering last week.
Kenneth Loftis, 40, of Fresno was shot and killed at a house party early June 20 on the 2500 block of South Rose Avenue, near Cherry and Jensen avenues.
The shooting, police said, may have been gang-related.
Arnold Loftis said his son “grew up kind of rough in his younger days” and “got involved in gangs, but he always had a heart of gold” who turned his life around two years ago after his brother was killed in a traffic collision.
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“Kenny was a very big-hearted guy,” Arnold Loftis said. “He loved his family and he was very adamant about taking care of people. Last few years, he met a woman and they have a son together and they were forming a life and looking at getting married and buying a house. He got out of his life he used to have and he was working construction and right now he was probably happy as the most content he’s ever been in his life.”
A candlelight vigil was held last week at his mother’s house and a local bar raised money for Loftis’ fiancée and his children.
What happened?
Fresno Police Lt. Larry Bowlan said detectives are continuing to investigate the shooting and what led up to shots being fired. Arnold Loftis said he heard his son was trying to break up a fight and he got shot from behind.
Bowlan said detectives have limited information. Bowlan confirmed there was a large gathering at the location and detectives are trying to identify the people who were present.
“Information has been limited due to the lack of cooperation from witnesses,” Bowlan said.
Arnold Loftis is appreciative of the Fresno Police Department’s investigation.
“Right now that is in the detective’s hands,” he said. “The detectives at the Fresno Police Department are good with this. They are keeping us informed as they go and they are doing, as far as I’m concerned, a very professional job. They don’t get enough of that and they are doing a good job. Kenny appreciated somebody who always did a good job. Family is happy with what they’re doing and appreciate their efforts.”
Big Raiders fan
Arnold Loftis said his son’s passions were family, fishing and the Raiders, even as the NFL team moved from Oakland to Las Vegas.
“He loved the Raiders,” he said. “I’ve been a Chargers and 49ers fan. We had a lot of discussions about that. He loved the Raiders, and probably the only thing outside of his family that he loved more than the Raiders was fishing. He was always wearing Raiders gear and I don’t know if he ever missed a game. When they went to Vegas, he said, ‘Yeah, I’m still a Raiders fan.’ I tried to convince him differently but he wasn’t hearing it. He was a Raiders fan for life.”
Kenneth Loftis is survived by his fiancée and his five children; his dad and mom and step-mom; a brother and three sisters; aunts and uncles and numerous cousins.
A GoFundMe account is set up.
Anyone with information about the shooting death of Loftis is asked to call police at 559-621-7000.
