Security officer shot at Fresno gas station
Fresno CA November 1 2018
The shooting of two men early Wednesday in northeast Fresno is under investigation by Fresno police.
The shootings took place at a gas station at Nees and Bond avenues, where a clerk and security guard sustained non-life threatening injuries from gunshots fired by the business owner, according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Police sped to the station just before 2:30 a.m. and detained several people in the area as they sorted out the details of a convoluted incident.
Dyer said it began when a man who left his keys and cell phone at a nearby bar showed up at the closed business carrying a backup cell phone, which he sought to charge so that he could make a phone call.
He began to pound on the locked door, and the clerk alerted the owner, who was in the back.
The owner then grabbed a Taser and a handgun and walked around to the front of the business, where he confronted the man.
The chief said the owner pointed the Taser at the man and may have touched his head with the stun device. The man punched the owner in the head.
A chase ensued and the owner, still armed with the handgun was joined by the clerk and a security guard as they sought to detain the man. During a struggle, the owner discharged one round from the gun, which struck the security guard in the leg and the clerk in the forearm.
Police will determine whether anyone faces charges in the incident, including the store owner for negligent discharge of a firearm.
Dyer said that the owner had a lawful right to confront a suspect if the owner felt that a crime had been committed. But he also said that the prudent thing to do in such a situation would be to first call police.
“When you get in a physical confrontation when a gun is involved, bad things can happen,” he said.
