mass shooting

Fresno’s gangs have been in the news as details emerge about the mistaken retaliation by a Fresno street gang called Mongolian Boys Society in November that left four dead and six injured. Court documents related to arrests in the case include details about how the gang is organized and makes its money. That led us to wonder about the current state of gang activity in Fresno and how it’s being addressed. To find out more, Kathleen Schock spoke with Fresno County Lt.

Fresno Police announced today that they have arrested six suspects related to the November 17 mass shooting at a house party in Southeast Fresno that left four men dead. Although police confirmed the shooting was gang related, none of the victims themselves were gang members. 

At the V-Nai Mini Mall in Southeast Fresno, a bland entrance belies the vibrancy inside. The rows of little shops sell traditional Hmong clothing, brightly colored embroidered bags, costume jewelry and hair ornaments. It’s made up mostly of female vendors, a few of them doing detailed work at sewing machines. The rhythmic sound of stitching sometimes accompanies conversations in Hmong. After all, V-Nai is not just a place to buy and sell things, it’s also a place to share, even when the news is at its worst. 

At a press conference following the mass shooting that killed four and wounded six others in Southeast Fresno, Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall announced he had created an Asian gang task force, despite no definitive evidence the shooting was gang-related. Many members of Southeast Asian communities have since questioned why the police made the implicit association without definitive proof, and some worry it perpetuates stereotypes from which they’ve long sought to distance themselves.

Three Fresno City Councilmembers have launched a fundraising campaign for the families of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting in Southeast Fresno.

The funds will go toward medical care and funeral costs for the four victims and six survivors of the tragedy, when one or two gunmen opened fire at a party on Sunday night. The suspects still remain at large.

One of the men killed in Sunday’s mass shooting in Southeast Fresno was a young musician named Xy Lee, who had tens of thousands of Youtube followers. Despite implications from the Fresno Police Department that the shooting could have been gang-related, Lee’s family asserts he was no gang member.

Two men remain hospitalized following Sunday night’s mass shooting at a party in Southeast Fresno that killed four.

Seven men were rushed to area hospitals. One was admitted to Saint Agnes Medical Center in North Fresno and the rest were treated at Community Regional Medical Center downtown. That hospital’s Level-1 designation means it’s equipped to provide the highest level of trauma care.

A Central Valley Sheriff is encouraging carriers of concealed weapons to use their guns in the event of an active shooter or other threat. It started when Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreax decided he was tired of hearing about active shooters taking innocent lives.

“They’re going into situations where the playing field is not an even game by any means, and that we have people that are having to run for their lives based on someone coming in, overpowering them with a gun,” says Boudreaux.

More details have emerged in a Bakersfield shooting spree on Wednesday that left six people dead, including the alleged killer. 

The Kern County Sheriff’s office has released the names of the suspect and victims in Wednesday’s shooting. Sheriff Donny Youngblood says there’s reason to believe the suspect, 54-year-old Javier Casarez, had a connection to many, if not all of the victims.

The tragic shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival last October in Las Vegas has largely faded from the headlines and Twitter timelines in recent months. But the story of the worst mass shooting in modern American history – a tragedy which left 58 dead – didn’t end when the sun rose on October 2nd last year. In fact, it was just the beginning of the story, as journalist Amanda Fortini writes in a new piece for the California Sunday Magazine, examining the aftermath in the Las Vegas community.

In light of last week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino leaving 14 dead, local law is enforcement speaking out. 

The terror attack in Southern California shocked the state and has reignited the conversation about gun control.  Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims says she doesn’t think more restrictions on gun ownership will work.

MIMS: “Well, I don’t think it’s any secret where I stand when it comes to our second amendment.  I think we need more law abiding citizens out there with weapons to be able to protect themselves and other people.”