Violence in Fresno continues with three more shootings in one night. Here’s what police know
Just hours after local and federal law enforcement leaders addressed violent crime in Fresno at a news conference, the Fresno Police Department responded in one night to three more shootings.
Officers first responded to a shooting just before 5:15 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of East Clinton Avenue near North Drexel Avenue in central Fresno.
Officers found the victim inside the apartment complex, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds — one to the face and to the upper body, Fresno police Lt. Andre Benson said.
The victim, described as a man in his 20s, was transported to a local hospital and is in critical condition, police said.
“It does appear early in the investigation that the individuals did have knowledge of each other,” Benson said. “It appears a short confrontation took place right before the shooting.”
Benson said the victim tried to go back inside the apartment after the shooting.
Detectives are investigating the shooting and canvassing for surveillance video.
“We’re asking that the individual involved in the shooting to please come forward and turn yourself in to the Fresno Police Department. We do not want anyone else to get hurt,” Benson said.
About 40 minutes later, police responded to another shooting at an apartment complex at the 4900 block of North Ninth Street by East Shaw Avenue near Fresno State in the northeast part of the city.
Officers found a 19-year-old man suffering from one gunshot wound to the lower body.
Benson said he was in and out of consciousness. He was transported to a hospital, where he is listed in stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Benson doesn’t know what led to the shooting but said the incidents are not related.
Then at 8:30 p.m., officers arrived at the 1400 block of West Sussex Way and North Ila Avenue regarding a shooting after a disturbance involving two teenagers.
The victim, a boy who was 15 or 16 years old, suffered a gunshot wound to his lower body.
The wound is considered non-life threatening, Benson said.
Benson said the two teenagers got into a confrontation with an older man when a shot was fired.
Police are investigating what led up to the shooting and who fired the shot.
“It’s a possibility now that the gunshot could’ve possibly been self-inflicted,” Benson said.
Police are working two scenes — one where the man was assaulted by both teenagers in front of his home and the other where the one of the teens was shot.
At the news conference, Fresno police said there have been 50 homicides and 564 shootings in the city this year, as of Monday.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 10:15 PM.
