Fresno police seek man who scuffled with Wishon staffer (video)

Fresno police are looking for a man who assaulted a staff member at Wishon Elementary School in central Fresno on Thursday while school was in session.

Police report that at 10:46 a.m. the assailant parked his van on Ninth Street, just south of Harvard Avenue, and walked into the main office of Wishon School, 3857 E. Harvard Ave. He walked up to the counter and began asking if the school was communist and if it had Bibles. A staff member directed the man outside. Once outside the office, the man, who seemed agitated, continued to speak loudly about communism, Bibles in the school, China and other issues.

While trying to gain access to the office a second time, a staff member prevented him. As officers responded, a person at the school told dispatchers that the suspect assaulted a male staff member and fled west on Harvard.

Police said there was a brief struggle between the two men and the staff member briefly pinned the assailant against a wall. The man escaped and walked back to his van. Nearby schools were warned to take precautions in case he showed up there.

The suspect is described as white, in his mid-50s or early 60s, medium length salt and pepper hair. He’s described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds. He was wearing a blue Hawaiian print shirt and blue jeans. He was last seen in a dark brown or plum colored mini-van with California license plate 6TIY269. The vehicle had a significant amount of duct tape wrapped around the passenger side mirror.

Anyone with information about the assailant is asked to call Fresno police at (559) 621-7000.

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Fresno police seek man who scuffled with Wishon staffer (video)."