Woman dies after being shot in head; police probe why attacker was let inside Fresno home
A 36-year-old woman shot in the head inside a home in west central Fresno died early Saturday night, with investigators trying to learn why another resident let the eventual assailant inside.
The suspect was at large after he reportedly forced a person at the home to drive him to another location in town. It is Fresno’s 62nd homicide of 2020 after there were 45 slayings in all of 2019.
Officers found the victim in the living room of a home in the 2000 block of West Olive, near Hughes Avenue, Fresno Police Lt. Anthony DeWall said, after they received a report of a shooting at 6:12 p.m.
The woman, whose identity was not released, was suffering from a single shot to the head.
She was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The police confirmed her death about 7:45 p.m.
She was identified Monday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office as Nicole Saenz, 36, of Fresno.
The man who fired the shot had been let in by another person, who along with at least one other resident was elsewhere in the house when the shots were fired.
Other residents heard the gun go off and found the woman suffering from a gunshot wound.
“The suspect remained on scene and actually forced one of the residents inside to drive him to the area of Belmont and (Highway) 99, where he was dropped off and since fled from that location,” DeWall said.
It is unclear what led up to the shooting. The other residents did not “giving any indication” that there was any kind of argument or disturbance before the shooting, DeWall said.
Investigators were trying to see if any surveillance video was available in or outside the home.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 559-621-7000.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 8:07 PM.
