Stolen vehicle leads to officer-involved shooting at Fresno’s Fashion Fair mall
An officer-involved shooting with two suspects in a reported stolen car at Fashion Fair mall in Fresno left one man in critical condition Wednesday.
The incident began around 11:15 a.m. with a reported stolen vehicle that was tracked to the northeastern side of the mall near Chick-fil-A and Forever 21.
As officers with Fresno’s multi-agency anti-car theft team approached the vehicle, the suspects attempted to drive away and struck at least one car, though possibly more.
Two detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office were in the path of the vehicle. They felt they were in danger and fired at the driver, Fresno police Lt. Bill Dooley said in a briefing.
Because the incident involved both the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, the Fresno Police Department is leading the investigation, Dooley said.
The driver was shot and critically wounded. A passenger suffered an unrelated medical condition.
Both were taken to the hospital.
The car had been reported stolen earlier Wednesday, though police would not say from where or how the vehicle was tracked to the mall.
Little information was released about the suspects, other than that they are men in their early 20s and that a weapon was found in the car, according to Dooley.
The parking lot outside Forever 21 remained locked down Wednesday afternoon as police continued the investigation.
Dooley said the department is talking with the mall to get security footage of the incident and is asking anyone who was in the area and may have captured video to get in contact with detectives.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 11:52 AM.
