Fresno police: Murder victim was a suspect in several shootings

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police say the victim in the city's latest murder has been a suspect in several shootings over the past few years.

Shootings are up again. Abel Price died in a drive-by shooting on Sunday. His family did not want to talk about him on Monday, but police say he was a gang member who was active on the streets.

Price was driving a car on Sunday with a female passenger when police say another car pulled up to him at Fruit and Brown avenues and fired several shots. Price was hit and died a short time later. Officers are trying to narrow the list of suspects, because investigators say there are plenty of possibilities.

"I'm sure the enemy list is long with him, and someone caught up to him last night," said Lt. Mark Salazar of the Fresno Police Department.

If you have seen his face or his name seems familiar, it may be since officers have asked for the public's help to track him down on several occasions. Last year, Price was seen in surveillance video at a sports shop moments before a shooting inside a barber shop in Manchester Center. Since then, investigators have had several other run-ins with him.

"He was shot at, shot about seven months ago on Argyle in Southeast Fresno," said Lt. Salazar. "His name has popped up on other investigations of him being armed, or just did a shooting or was going to do a shooting."

Within the past few weeks, violence among African-American gangs has started heating up again, according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer. And it's not just shootings, but another explosive problem causing police to take action.

"It's not just the shootings that they are involved in that are of concern; it's the fact that they have upped their game and they are using Molotov cocktails on one residence as well as two cars," said Chief Dyer.

The deadly drive-by shooting Sunday night has prompted increased patrols and more proactive police operations. Officers on the Violent Crime Impact Team will be serving search warrants every day, looking for guns and other dangerous weapons.

So far, no arrests have been made in the murder of Price.

Within the past 30 days, there have been 28 shootings in Fresno. The chief says an overwhelming majority are gang-related.