FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Two officers opened fire on a suspect they believed stabbed a store clerk in Northwest Fresno.
Police responded to a stabbing call at 12:30 a.m. Thursday at the AM/PM Convenience store at the Arco gas station on the corner of Bullard Avenue and Figarden Drive.
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said a 44-year-old member of the unhoused community entered the store and “violently” attacked the clerk with a knife.
The suspect then took off down the street.
A police helicopter flew over the surrounding area and spotted a man fitting the suspect’s description near the NorthPointe Church Bullard Campus.
When confronting the suspect, officers tried to get him to drop the weapons, but he did not comply.
“The officers continued to give demands, and they actually tried to do a tactical retreat backwards, but frankly, he closed the distance so quickly, they were forced to use their weapons,” Balderrama said.
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The suspect then attempted to pepper-spray the officers while still armed with a knife.
That’s when police say two officers opened fire, hitting him several times.
The suspect and the injured clerk were taken to Community Regional Medical Center.
The suspect is expected to survive. The clerk is still in surgery and was last reported in critical condition.
The suspect will be charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and for attempting to spray officers with pepper spray.
Both the stabbing and the shooting remain under investigation.
