Two shot, killed in Fresno’s Woodward Lakes area

Two men were killed in the Woodward Lakes area of north Fresno on Thursday night, with police still searching for the assailant as a particularly deadly year continued in the city.

As of Friday morning, there had not yet been any arrest and police had no new details to report.

The shootings occurred near the 10000 block of Grouse Run shortly after 8 p.m., police chief Jerry Dyer said. He said an eyewitness was helping police find what they believe to be a lone assailant.

Police responded to reports of several shots. When officers arrived, they found a 20-year-old white male and a 20-year-old African American male lying on the sidewalk and in the street. Both were dead.

It is believed the two men and the person who fired the shots were frequent visitors to the area, Dyer said, and “at some point one of those individuals pulled out a firearm and shot these individuals.”

The assailant, also believed to be in his 20s, fled south. Police had a description of a vehicle but were holding off on officially releasing that information, believing it could impair the investigation.

“This is a rarity,” Dyer said of the shooting’s location. But it extended a major surge in homicides in the city in 2017.

The two deaths raised the yearly total to 55, compared to 39 in 2016 and 2015.

On Wednesday, in response to a rising number of slayings and shootings in the southern part of town, Dyer announced the city would deploy three special response teams beginning in January.

The teams, comprising a sergeant and six officers, will be deployed in the southwest, central and southeast policing districts.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Two shot, killed in Fresno’s Woodward Lakes area."