Officers say that is where they found a man pointing a gun at his girlfriend. Family members of the victim were very shaken up Sunday and did not want to speak with us on camera. The suspect, whose name has still not been released, had a long history of domestic violence.
Enrique Garcia and his family say they watched an angry man yell at woman from across the street, and then the man got much more violent.
" He took her to the ground and started hitting her, hitting her and that is when other family members tried to take him," Garcia said.
When family members could not pull the man off the woman someone called 911. Fresno police say when they arrived they saw the suspect holding her in a choke hold. Officers say he had a gun in each hand, and pointed one at the woman's head, and the other at his own head. That is when officers shot him and killed him.
"We have no doubt that absent the immediate actions of these officers perhaps that female would have been shot and killed tonight," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
The woman was bruised but said she was too traumatized to speak to Action News. Investigators say the suspect had a criminal record, and was just arrested with in the week and recently released.
Action News has learned the man that was shot had a history of using methamphetamines. Valley domestic violence experts believe he also had a long history as an abuser.
" Usually that's what happens when someone stays in these abusive relationships and there are a lot of threats and the batterer has access to them, most likely those threats will become a reality," said Domestic Violence Program Manager Alma Borja.
We have also learned the couple's 7-year-old, 4-year-old and 3-year-old children witnessed all the violence.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence Action News has some information up for you on our See It On TV page.
