Police shoot 41-year-old man after gunfire nearly strikes officer in Fresno
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Fresno officers exchanged gunfire after a suspect fired at one, nearly striking him.
- Two officers returned fire; one suspect hit, barricaded, then surrendered.
- Suspect in critical but stable condition; both officers on paid administrative leave.
A 41-year-old man was shot in the upper torso by Fresno police on Sunday night following an exchange of gunfire that nearly struck an officer, police said.
The man was in critical but stable condition.
Officers responded to reports of suspicious activity around 6:45 p.m. in an alley near Clinton and West avenues.
According to Fresno Police Deputy Chief Robert Beckwith, an officer attempted to contact a man acting suspiciously when the situation escalated.
During a struggle, the man pulled out a loaded firearm and fired at the officer, Beckwith said. The shot struck the officer’s ball cap.
The officer returned fire as the man began to flee. A second officer arrived and fired multiple shots at the man, hitting him once in the upper torso. The wounded man then barricaded himself behind a vehicle in a nearby carport.
The man was later identified as 41-year-old Bradley Nicholson.
Despite still possessing a gun, the man surrendered peacefully after negotiations, assisted by the department’s SWAT team.
Nicholson was taken to a local hospital.
Beckwith said that one of the involved officers has six years of experience, while the other has been with the department for one year. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
“By the grace of God, we did not have an officer injured ,” Beckwith said.
Investigators remained at the scene for several hours as the investigation continued.
Nicholson will be booked into the Fresno County jail on suspicion of attempted murder on a police officer and gun-related charges.
This was the Fresno Police Department’s sixth officer-involved shooting in 2025.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 8:42 AM.
