Fresno police investigate chase suspects’ ties to Tower shootings

Two people involved in a brief chase and crash in Old Fig Garden were arrested Tuesday, and investigators were trying to determine whether they were involved in a string of shootings earlier in the afternoon around the Tower District, Fresno police said.

In one of the shootings, a gray passenger car occupied by two people was traveling west on Hedges Avenue, just east of Palm Avenue, around 4 p.m., when someone in the front passenger seat fired several gunshots toward the south at Harrison Avenue, Lt. Dave Ramos said.

The car continued west on Hedges Avenue after the shooting, Ramos said. Witnesses weren’t sure if the shooter fired at a person or a group of people on the street or at another passenger vehicle.

Officers arrived minutes later and couldn’t find any shooting victims or any vehicles struck by the gunfire, Ramos said. About three to four bullet holes were found on a church on the southwest corner of Harrison and Hedges avenues.

Around 6:50 p.m., officers recognized a vehicle that matched the description of the car at a motel on Blackstone Avenue, Sgt. Sean Biggs said. A short chase ensued after police tried to stop the vehicle, but then called it off.

The fleeing vehicle came to a sudden stop minutes later on the lawn of a home on the northeast corner of Del Mar and Rialto avenues, Biggs said. Police were still interviewing witnesses Tuesday evening.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Fresno police investigate chase suspects’ ties to Tower shootings."