MADERA, Calif. – An employee at a Walgreens pharmacy was killed this week in Madera, and police believe the suspect in the shooting drove miles from his home in Tulare County before carrying out the attack.
Police say the man may have been angry with the pharmacy.
The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. on Monday. The bullets hit one employee in the store, who later died at the scene. The suspect then fired several more shots at employees trying to escape. None of them were hit, according to Madera police Lt. Mark Adams.
He told KVPR the suspect is 30-year old Narcisco Fernandez. He is from the town of Pixley – 80 miles south.
Adams says there is currently no known relationship between Fernandez and the victim, who has been identified as Erick Velazquez.
Police say Fernandez had no known criminal record.
“Everything that we've uncovered so far, this was just by chance he ended up here in Madera,” Adams said.
An exact motive for the shooting is still under investigation, though Adams says Fernandez may have had a reason to target the Walgreens pharmacy.
“He was angry at the pharmacy, but it's not like some deep-seated anger towards any and every pharmacy,” he said.
Fernandez is now facing a murder charge and pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday. He was booked into the Madera County jail.
