Man shot to death inside truck in west central Fresno intersection. Shooter at large

A 23-year-old man died early Monday when he was shot inside a truck he was driving in west central Fresno, the Police Department reported.

The victim’s name was not immediately available. A motive of the early-morning violence remained under investigation, Sgt. Jeff La Blue told The Bee.

Officers responded at 3:07 a.m. to the intersection of West Hedges and North Lafayette avenues. Police found the victim in the driver’s seat of a red truck. The vehicle appeared to have driven up the curb of a sidewalk in the residential neighborhood.

The victim suffered at least one gunshot wound to his chest and died at the scene, La Blue said.

Police declined to comment on some details of the case to protect the investigation, including the number of shots fired.

No arrests have been reported. A description of the shooter was not available Monday morning.

La Blue said the victim had no known street gang ties but said detectives have not ruled out the possibility of a gang connection in the case.

Monday’s killing marks the 11th homicide in Fresno during September and the 38th of 2020, La Blue said.

The Fresno police sergeant also noted those numbers could change depending on the outcome of another recent homicide investigation unrelated to Monday’s violence.

This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 10:59 AM.