‘Should not happen.’ Fresno police chief urges gun safety after two children shot separately

Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama on Monday called for parents to take gun safety measures seriously after one child died and a second was wounded when they got hold of firearms in separate in-home shooting incidents over the weekend.

In one incident, a 3-year old boy died Saturday morning after he found a semi-automatic pistol and shot himself in central Fresno. He was identified as Bryson Vang. A second boy, 8, was hospitalized Sunday after he shot himself in the hand with a revolver in southwest Fresno.

Both incidents remain under investigation and it will be up to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether anyone will face charges in the shootings, Balderrama indicated. Such a decision would take at least a week by state law. The chief said the shootings “should not have happened,” but added that he doubted any legal measures could make the parents feel worse than they already do.

Balderrama used the news conference to announce that free gun locks would be offered to area parents under Project Child Safe in an effort to prevent similar tragedies. He said he has been advocating gun locks since his service in Oklahoma City and ordered 10,000 more for the Fresno area two months ago.

The chief indicated he takes the issue very seriously as a father who needs to have guns in his home as part of his job. To those who argue that a lock on a firearm might slow someone who needed it the gun for self-defense, he added:

“I’d rather err on the side of safety.”

The gun locks will be available by Tuesday at police district offices. Those offices are:

▪ Police Headquarters, 2323 Mariposa Mall.

▪ Southwest District, 1211 Fresno Street.

▪ Central District, 3502 North Blackstone Avenue.

▪ Southeast District, 224 South Argyle Avenue.

▪ Northeast District, 1450 East Teague Avenue.

▪ Northwest District, 3080 West Shaw Avenue.

This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 1:35 PM.