Bystander struck as gunfire erupts in parking lot at Fresno shopping center
One person was injured after at least a dozen gunshots were fired in a Fresno parking lot, police say.
Fresno police Lt. Larry Bowlan said officers received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired at a parking lot near West Avenue and Griffith Way around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Shortly thereafter, officers received a ShotSpotter notification identifying 14 rounds of gunfire in the area, Bowlan said.
The parking lot is near various businesses, including a dd’s Discounts retail store and a nail salon.
Responding officers found a teenager who sustained a gunshot wound to their foot. Bowlan said the victim was a bystander who was caught in the gunfire and was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury.
Bowlan said witnesses recounted seeing two groups shooting at each other before fleeing into the surrounding neighborhood.
“During that exchange of gunfire where, honestly, these individuals are just shooting randomly into the parking lot, we had two individuals walking towards the dd’s Discount. And that is the one victim that was struck in the foot with a stray round,” Bowlan said.
At least three suspects were detained, Bowlan said, though authorities hadn’t determined if any of them were shooters.
Bowlan said officers haven’t confirmed if the shooting is gang-related. He said officers recovered at least a dozen gunshot casings at the scene.
In addition to the one victim, Bowlan said four unoccupied vehicles were hit by gunfire.
A bystander told The Bee that her sister was in a nearby nail salon at the time of the shooting. The sister’s car was struck at least twice and sustained a flat tire.
Considering how much foot-traffic the area gets in the afternoon, Bowlan said they’re lucky the situation was not worse.
“When we have that many individuals around, and then we have people like this that are involved or causing these kinds of disturbances and shootings, they’re putting a whole community at risk,” Bowlan said. “Don’t be surprised if you see another summer operation coming out from Fresno PD where we’re going to try to suppress a lot of this violent crime.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 5:40 PM.
