California police officer struck by gunfire during ambush

FRESNO, Calif. – A police officer was shot multiple times and his attacker was shot dead during a wild gunfight in southeast Fresno Saturday evening.

This officer-involved shooting occurred near the intersection of Tulare Street and Eighth Street around 5:30 p.m.

Interim Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto said a sergeant who was in his patrol vehicle and working a homicide case nearby was “ambushed.”

A man drove alongside the officer and opened fire on the parked police vehicle, Casto added.

Despite being hit, the sergeant managed to call for help.

And the responding officers, along with the beaten sergeant, got into a shootout with the man shortly afterward.

Casto said the man was fatally shot by police.

The stricken sergeant, meanwhile, was sent to a local hospital after being shot multiple times in the lower body. The officer, who has more than 20 years of experience in the department, was believed to be in stable condition, Casto said.

Police are still trying to figure out how another person ended up dead in a nearby home in the murder case the sergeant had been working on. It was not immediately known if the deceased ambush attacker was connected to the murder investigation.

This officer-involved shooting is the first this year.

A woman told The Bee she heard gunshots from her home and saw officers standing at her neighbor’s house with their guns pointed at the suspect.