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‘Students are safe.’ Parents urged to stay away from Selma school after police officer shot

Family members of students at Eric White Elementary School wait outside the campus after it was locked down following the shooting of police officer about a block away in Selma, California, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
Family members of students at Eric White Elementary School wait outside the campus after it was locked down following the shooting of police officer about a block away in Selma, California, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. ezamora@fresnobee.com

Selma school officials say the students of Eric White Elementary School are safe while the campus is locked-down after a police officer was shot Tuesday afternoon.

The district is releasing students in small groups from the school’s gate on Mitchell Ave. starting at 2:30 p.m. “due to police action in the area,” according to a message officials shared with The Bee.

This was an update from the school’s original plan to release students from the K-6 school of roughly 450 students at nearby Ringo Park.

“The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority,” the message says.

A Selma police officer was shot by a man in a residential neighborhood in the Fresno County city on Tuesday, authorities said.

The shooting occurred shortly before noon in the 2600 block of Pine Street, just west of Highway 99 and south of Rose Avenue.

It was not clear if the suspect was injured.

Just before 2:30 p.m., the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said an arrest had been made but did not immediately report any details.

“We have our shooting suspect in custody,” Deputy Tony Botti said in a brief media statement. “There are no outstanding suspects.”

The officer’s condition remained unclear.

In addition to FCSO, law enforcement including California Highway Patrol and police from Fresno, Kingsburg and Parlier were at the scene and established a perimeter around the location for the investigation.

The Bee’s Thaddeus Miller and Anthony Galaviz contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 2:20 PM.

Julianna Morano
The Fresno Bee
Julianna Morano covers early and K-12 education for The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab. Born and raised in Michigan, she attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Previously, she worked as a features intern at The Dallas Morning News and an education and breaking news intern at The Virginian-Pilot.
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