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Fresno shooting: four dead after attack at backyard party Fresno shooting: police search for two suspects who killed four at family party
(about 16 hours later)
Police say 10 people shot by unknown assailants at family gathering in California city Six others were wounded after assailants opened fire at a family gathering on Sunday evening in the California city
Four people have been shot dead in Fresno, California, after suspects entered a backyard party and fired into the crowd, police said. Police in the California city of Fresno are searching for two assailants who sneaked into a backyard party on Sunday evening and opened fire on a small crowd that had gathered to watch football on television. Four people were killed and six wounded.
The shooting took place at about 6pm at a residence in the south-east of the city where people were gathered to watch a football game, according to Fresno police. The house where a Hmong ethnic minority group of family and friends got together was deliberately targeted but the shooters fired at random once they saw men in the yard, police said.
Michael Reid, the deputy police chief, told the Fresno Bee and the KSEE/KGPE TV stations that 10 people had been shot, with three found dead in the backyard. A fourth victim died at the hospital. “They fired randomly into the crowd. It does not appear that they were targeting any individuals, and once they fired, they fled,” said Andrew Hall, Fresno’s police chief, on Monday.
Six others were expected to survive and were recovering at the hospital, police said. All the victims were Asian men aged 25 and 35, Reid said. Hall said there was no immediate word on a motive, and so far there was no indication that any of the victims knew their attackers, though most could not see them. They described seeing only flashes when the semiautomatic pistols were fired. Officers went door to door looking for surveillance video that might help them track down suspects.
The Fresno police lieutenant, Bill Dooley, said the shooting took place at a backyard gathering of family and friends. Guests were watching football when unknown suspects approached the residence, entered the backyard and opened fire, he said. The party “was just a family event”, Hall said. The chief said the shooting scene was graphic and that officers are making the case a priority.
The victims were taken to Community Regional Medical Center, with some in a critical but stable condition, local media reported. About 35 people were at the party when the shooting began, Reid said. “We’ve got a single focus within the organisation, and this is not going to be tolerated in the south-east [Asian] community or any other community in Fresno,” he added.
No suspect is in custody. Police said there was no immediate indication that the victims knew the assailant or assailants. California has the nation’s highest population of Hmong, a south-east Asian ethnic minority, and Fresno has the second-highest population in the United States.
Police were going door-to-door in search of surveillance video that might help them track down the suspects. The shooting took place about a half-mile (0.8km) from the city’s airport. The Fresno County coroner’s office identified the dead as Fresno residents Xy Lee, 23; Phia Vang, 31; Kou Xiong, 38; and Kalaxang Thao.
Agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in San Francisco were at the scene, the Bee reported. Three were found dead when emergency crews arrived. A fourth person died at a hospital. Three remained in hospital on Monday in a serious condition, Community Regional Medical Center said in a statement.
It was at least the second fatal gun attack on Sunday in south-east Fresno, the Bee reported. A man in his 20s was shot to death earlier in the day at a home in another part of the city. Pao Yang, CEO of the Fresno Center, a Hmong community group, said two of the victims were well-known Hmong performers, including a man who regularly sang for mental health clients. He said community elders have offered help to the center.
“Our community is in mourning, and we still don’t know what’s going on or who are the suspects,” he said.
Hall said police were investigating whether the shooting was connected to a recent disturbance involving some of the people at the party. He also announced the establishment of an Asian gang task force before the Hmong new year out of concern about the possibility of more violence or retaliation.
Some residents complained of other shootings in the neighbourhood recently. The home where the attack took place is near an industrial area with commercial buildings close to Fresno airport.
Calvin Gatison, who lives on the same block, said the street had been peaceful for years, but at least two shootings had happened in recent weeks.
It was at least the second fatal gun attack on Sunday in south-east Fresno, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported. A man in his 20s was shot dead early on Sunday at a home in another part of the city.