One sitting in front yard, one walking nearby – both shot in drive-by

Two men who didn’t know each other were wounded by a drive-by shooter in southeast Fresno on Sunday evening, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Sgt. Quintin Hawkins said around 6 p.m. a man was sitting on a chair in his front yard on Clay Avenue near Peach Avenue, and another was walking down Clay when a vehicle drove by and someone inside it shot them.

The men were two to three houses apart from each other when they were shot, leading deputies to believe that they were targeted individually. They did not know each other, Hawkins said.

Both men, in their early 20s, were taken to Community Regional Medical Center. One was reported in stable condition and the other was in critical condition, Hawkins said.

Deputies have not had prior run-ins with the victims, Hawkins said, but they have been called out to the area before for a shooting. They do not have a description of a suspect vehicle.

The sheriff’s office is investigating because the area is a county island.

This story was originally published January 7, 2018 at 8:36 PM with the headline "One sitting in front yard, one walking nearby – both shot in drive-by."