Fresno man reports burglary, fires a shot at responding police officers
A man who called police about a burglary in progress in his south-central Fresno home early Sunday morning had to be coaxed out of the apartment with his children after he fired a shot at officers who responded to the call.
The man called police shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday to say that he believed someone was breaking into his apartment in the 200 block of South Callisch Avenue, south of Tulare Avenue between Highway 41 and First Street.
When officers arrived, they tried to talk to the man, who while inside said he didn’t believe they were police, said Fresno Police Lt. Paul Cervantes. As the police sought to convince him of their identity, the man fired one round through the closed security screen door of the apartment.
After beating a hasty retreat from the door, officers took up different positions and ultimately got the man to come out of the home with his six children. Neither the man, the children, nor officers were injured in the incident.
Whether the man was intoxicated or actually concerned about the legitimate identity of the officers remained under investigation Sunday.
The man was detained for a period, but no arrest had been made as of mid-morning Sunday.
“Our belief is that (the man) thought that someone was burglarizing his home and mistook the officers for someone who was there to continue the crime,” Cervantes said.
