Clash breaks out at a southeast Fresno house party. Shots are fired, leaving man hurt

Fresno Police are investigating an early Sunday shooting in southeast Fresno after a disturbance at a house party on Garland Avenue quickly turned into a bigger problem.

A man in his early to mid-20s was hit once in the shoulder and found hiding inside the residence, police said.

“He was somewhere outside when he was struck – we don’t know if that was in the backyard or the front yard, that has not yet been determined,” Lt. Larry Bowlan said.

“But whenever the shots broke out he made his way into the house and he was hiding in a closet inside the residence. They went in to do a protective sweep, looking for any victims or anyone who might be injured and they found him. He was pretty shook up over it, and I don’t blame him. To be injured like that and not come out and ask for some help, I think his whole thing was that he didn’t want to come out until he knew 100% that he wasn’t going to be injured any further or the disturbance had stopped.”

There were at least five shots fired about 5 a.m. One shot grazed a car in the driveway and at least three others hit the residence. Police had marked shell casings in front of the house as well as a blood trail that went around the corner onto Angus Avenue.

There also was a woman who had been involved in some sort of physical assault, but was uncooperative with police and left the scene.

“This was our only call on the location (Saturday night/Sunday morning) so whatever the disturbance was it got out of hand quick,” Bowlan said. “Right now, we’re looking to see who is attending this thing and who is the primary tenant of this house, because that could have something to do with this, too. We have no idea yet if it’s gang related or if gang members were attending it, but we’re trying to filter all that out.”