Police lock down Fresno shopping center, seize weapon

A 21-year-old man armed with a handgun was arrested Thursday afternoon after police locked down the Manchester Center in central Fresno.

Police sent a number of officers to the center around 12:09 p.m. after the suspect, Brandon Fan, reportedly brandished the weapon in the parking lot before walking into the shopping center.

Fan, who was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a loaded and concealed gun in a public place and illegal possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number, allegedly was the passenger in a car driven by Kim Chanthavong, 19, that cut off another driver in the parking lot and took a parking stall, Lt. Joe Gomez said. The other driver and his passenger had come to the mall to pick up their son, who attended school inside.

After Fan and the other driver exchanged glances and then words, Fan pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, racked a round into the chamber, pointed the gun at the driver and his passenger and threatened to kill them, Gomez said.

After police arrived and began lockdown procedures, Fan left the mall on the east side and Chanthavong on the west side. Both were taken into custody, and the loaded handgun was found in Fan’s waistband, Gomez said.

In addition to stores, there are several adult schools in the center.

It is the second recent lockdown of the center. In October, police locked down Manchester and neighboring areas afternoon after the Clovis Police Department alerted them about an armed student possibly heading to his school somewhere in the vicinity. Officers heard the suspect stole a semi-automatic rifle and ammunition from his father, who believed the teenager may be “going to school.”

Police eventually used GPS to locate the armed man’s cell phone. They found the BMW parked at a home in the 100 block of South Argyle Avenue and arrested the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Athwal Joban Singh, on a grand theft of a firearm charge.

Fresno police plan to open the Central Policing District, centered in the shopping center, in August.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Police lock down Fresno shopping center, seize weapon."