Herndon Avenue reopens hours after Fresno shooting incident

A major portion of Herndon Avenue was closed Friday afternoon for nearly six hours as police investigated the shooting of a woman at First Street earlier in the day.

The investigation shut down Herndon between Millbrook Avenue and Fresno Street and First north of Sierra Avenue. Fresno police said just after 2 p.m. that the roads were open again.

The gunman was at large after the shooting of the woman in her 30s led to a crash shortly after 8 a.m. She remained in critical condition at Community Regional Medical Center.

Fresno police say the woman was shot in the upper torso while driving north on First. As she tried to escape in her car, she crashed into a white pickup.

Investigators had a large crime scene and blocked off streets in the area, including Herndon to westbound traffic at Millbrook Avenue and First north of Sierra Avenue.

Police spokeswoman Diana Trueba Vega said the shooting happened shortly after 8 a.m. The woman was driving a brown SUV northbound on First when the shooter, a man riding in a light-colored sedan driven by a third person, fired at her. The wounded woman’s SUV crashed into the pickup at the Herndon intersection.

Trueba Vega said the shooter, believed to be a white male in his mid-40s, and the woman likely know each other, but no additional details on the relationship were released. The suspect is described as having a heavy build and a bald head.

Other details, including the direction the shooter went from the scene, were not immediately known.

This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 12:55 PM.