Two men injured in double shooting in central Fresno

Two men are in the hospital after gunshots were fired late Monday afternoon in a central Fresno neighborhood.

Both men, believed to have been hurt in the same incident but found at different locations, were in stable condition.

Just before 4:30 p.m., Fresno Police Lt. Andre Benson said, officers received reports of a shooting victim in the area of Pontiac Way and Effie Street. Police arrived and found a man lying in the intersection with a gunshot wound to his lower body.

Moments later the second man was found near Berkeley Avenue and Howard Street. He was lying next to his car, also with an injury to his lower body.

It appears the men were together at Pontiac and Effie when the shooting occurred, Benson said. The second man apparently fled in his vehicle while trying to get to a family member’s home.

Officers continue to investigate what led to the shooting, Benson said. No information was available about possible suspects.

Fresno officers have been confronted this year by a rise in shootings that began in the spring. They expressed optimism earlier this month that gains were being made in slowing the violence through, at least in part, a crackdown on gang activity.

Still, the city suffered its 57th homicide of the year Friday when a street vendor on a bicycle was shot and killed. No motive had been determined in the shooting, which sparked the Jose Rivera Memorial on GoFundMe.com.

There were 45 homicides in all of 2019, compared to 32 in 2018 and 56 in 2017, according to monthly crime reports posted by the Fresno Police Department.

This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 6:48 PM.