Officer Involved Shooting In Fresno: Suspect Was Threatening People With A Knife


An officer was involved in a shooting in Fresno after a suspect was reportedly threatening people with a knife, ABC 30 reports.

The police received a report that a man was shouting gang names and threatening drivers with a knife just after 4 p.m. on Sunday near Belmont Avenue and Fresno Street. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer arrived at the scene and confronted the man. The confrontation ended with the suspect being shot twice.

The suspect was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center. His injuries are said to not be life-threatening. The area has been closed off and is under investigation. Witnesses are being interviewed and they are gathering further evidence.

Officer Dyer was wearing a body camera, which will be used during the investigation. Dyer is now on paid administrative leave until the investigation is completed.

During the investigation, a van crashed into a parked police vehicle, but it was said to be completely unrelated to the incident at hand.

Officer-involved shootings have been on the top of headline news lately as many are blaming officers for taking unnecessary action towards black men. Recently, an officer shot a black man in Charlotte, Inquisitr reports.

[Image by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]

Keith Scott exited a white SUV while cops had their guns raised to him. While the officers demanded for Keith to “drop the gun,” he began backing up with his hands reaching slightly down to the side. An officer shot him three times, and he later died from his injuries.

It had been questioned whether or not Keith actually had a gun, as his wife Rakeyia said that he had a book in his hand, not a gun. However, it was later revealed that the police did, indeed, find a loaded, stolen handgun, as well as an ankle holster, at the scene.

Blue Lives Matter, a group of retired and active law enforcement members, have recently accused CNN of editing the original video that was provided to the police as evidence in Keith Scott’s shooting.

While arguing that CNN is making officers look bad by making such edits, the group also stresses how it is inciting violence towards police officers.

Another recent officer-involved shooting took place in El Cajon when the police responded to a report of an irrational man pacing back and forth in the parking lot of a restaurant, Inquisitr reports.

It was revealed that the man was not following orders and an officer shot him. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital, but later died of his injuries. The man’s sister claimed that she contacted the police to help her brother, not kill him.

There were many claims that the man who was shot had mental problems or was possibly going through a mental crisis. It was later revealed that the man was not armed. The officers believed that the man, Alfred Olango, who was allegedly holding an object in a shooting stance prior to being shot, had a gun. However, it was revealed that the man was holding an electric cigarette, CNN reports.

[Image by naxaso/AP Images]

The officers were not wearing body cameras, however, a cell phone was voluntarily provided by a witness who was working at the restaurant during the shooting. Immediately following the shooting, a large group of people stood near the shooting site and peacefully chanted “Black Lives Matter.”

When the video footage became available to the public that was originally provided to the police for evidence, the peaceful riots turned into a violent protest, Breitbart reports. Demonstrators were attacking vehicles and at least one motorcycle while protesting Olango’s death. Police arrested two people during the riot and stopped people from throwing glass bottles by dispersing pepper balls at the crowd.

The officer-involved shooting in Fresno did not reveal whether or not the man who was shot was black.

[Featured Image by malven/AP Images]

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