Yellow crime scene tape roped off most businesses on Blackstone near Clinton for hours after an 85-year-old woman had her purse stolen at gunpoint in the Save Mart parking lot.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, "A lot of individuals are opportunist looking for a suspect not paying attention ... unfortunately elderly."
Leesa Corrales said, "We started seeing all these police cars zooming through, we were all like, what's going on?"
First a witness and then plain clothed police officers chased the suspect on foot. Once they caught up with him in a Pizza Hut parking lot one block away-- he was shot in the shoulder. Officers said he was carrying the 85-year-old woman's check book and a handgun they believe he used in the robbery.
"They confronted the suspect officers say he made movement ... reaching for a gun they fired a single round," said Chief Dyer.
This is the first officer involved shooting where an independent auditor was on the scene. Eddie Aubrey will follow the investigation from start to finish-- after it's all over he'll make recommendations on whether police acted appropriately.
Aubrey said, "I will look at procedures involved in the investigation, how processes are flowing if they are following the best practices."
Store managers in the area said shutting down business cost them time and money.
At Pizza Hut, cars parked out back belong to customers who abandoned their vehicles for several hours while the investigation took place.
Pizza Hut Manager Maria Martines said, "With this going on they couldn't take orders for like four or five hours. That's bad. We lost a lot of money right there."
But those who live and work here are relieved it's over.
Fresno Police are checking to see if the suspect has been involved with other robberies that happened in the area back in December. They want to remind shoppers to always be aware of your surroundings.
