Fresno liquor store employee is city's first homicide victim of 2016

A liquor store employee was killed in central Fresno on New Year’s Day, becoming the city’s first homicide victim of 2016, police said.

Officers received a call about 3:45 p.m. about an injured man at Shields Express Mart at 1107 W. Shields Avenue, just east of West Avenue, said Lt. Mindy Casto.

Police, along with emergency medical services, arrived minutes later and tried to treat the man. They determined that he died before arrival, Casto said.

A motive and cause of death were unknown, but there was apparent trauma, Casto said.

Casto said the man was a store employee whose body was discovered by a customer.

Detectives from the homicide and street violence bureaus were still at the scene late Friday. They were also canvassing the neighborhood following leads and looking for eyewitnesses, Casto said.

Police will also look at any video cameras in the store and at nearby businesses for clues.

The Fresno Police Department is urging anyone with information on this case to call (559) 498-STOP(7867).

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Fresno liquor store employee is city's first homicide victim of 2016."