Gunshots exchanged as shopper takes, returns fire at Fresno’s Fashion Fair mall

A brief gun battle that broke out between a man shopping at a shoe store outside Fashion Fair mall and another person in a car remained under investigation Monday night by Fresno police.

Helen Oliva, owner of Le Bella Rose, located on the outside of the mall near the northeast entrance, said just before 1 p.m. a man entered the store and asked an employee for help with some shoes.

The employee had gone to the back of the store when gunshots began to ring out. Someone in a car fired into the store, she said, and the man inside fired back.

Almost immediately, the car drove off and the man inside left.

A window was shattered. Oliva said officers had found a total of 17 bullet casings.

“Luckily no one was hit,” Oliva said. “We’ve never had any incident like this happen. From our experience this is a pretty safe mall. My employees are shaken up but we’re just glad they are OK.”

The store will need some work before reopening. Oliva said they are trying to make repairs as quickly as possible.

Le Bella Rose has surveillance cameras, she said, but they were not working.