Shooting at Fresno backyard party kills four, wounds six others, police say

At least 10 people were shot, including four who were killed, during a backyard party at a Fresno home where a group had gathered to watch football, Fresno police said.

Lt. Bill Dooley said the shooting took place about 6 p.m. Sunday on the city’s southeast side. Television video from the scene showed a large police and ambulance response to the neighborhood.

Dooley, in a video interview, said family and friends were gathered in the backyard of a home to watch a football game when “unknown suspects” sneaked in and fired into the crowd. The shooter or shooters are believed to have approached the backyard on foot.

Fresno Police Deputy Chief Michael Reid said in a televised interview that three men were found dead in the backyard in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and a fourth man died at the hospital. All of those shot were men 25 to 30 years old. Six others are expected to survive and are recovering at the hospital, police said.

Police work at the scene of a shooting in southeast Fresno.

(Larry Valenzuela/Fresno Bee)

About 35 people had gathered at the home, Reid said. Several children were at the party. Police do not yet know what type of firearm was used.

“My heart goes out to the families that are victims of this senseless violence,” Reid said. “We are going to do everything we can to find out who the perpetrators are and bring them to justice.”

Dooley said the wounded were taken to Community Regional Medical Center in critical condition, and some are in critical but stable condition.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in San Francisco said in a tweet that they were responding to the shooting. Police were knocking on doors in the neighborhood, looking for surveillance cameras and witnesses that might help detectives piece together what happened, Dooley said.

No suspect is in custody.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.