Madera police continue to investigate deadly early-morning shootings. Are they related?

Madera police detectives are investigating two homicides that occurred early Sunday, the first near Gateway Drive and Fourth Street and the second about two hours later near Noreen Way and Renee Way.

The names of the victims had not been released, but both are male and were shot and killed.

“The homicide at Fourth and Gateway occurred at approximately 1 o’clock in the morning,” Madera police Lt. Josiah Arnold said. “It was a driver of a vehicle who was killed and he drove away and crashed his car somewhere else, but that’s the location the shooting occurred. The other homicide, near Noreen and Renee Way, occurred around 3 a.m.”

The victims and suspects appear to have known each other and both cases involved altercations prior to the homicides. Police are investigating whether the cases are related.

“We haven’t had a homicide in a year here so to have two within two hours of each other is highly suspicious, but we don’t know now if they were related,” Arnold said. “We don’t have a lot of homicides here, but it begs the question whether or not they were related and certainly we are investigating that angle.”

Anyone with information regarding either of these incidents is asked to call Madera police at (559) 675-4255.