Murder mystery near Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A family is in mourning after a mysterious murder in the middle of the night. The deadly shooting happened at about 3 a.m., just across the street from Fresno State on Shaw and Woodrow.

Action News talked to several neighbors at the North Park apartments and they all had a good impression of the victim, Anthony Brown. So it's for no apparent reason that somebody went there and killed the 26-year-old.

Sorrow overcame Brown's mother in the moments after homicide detectives confirmed her worst fear: someone shot and killed her son early Monday morning.

Brown's brother lives just a few buildings away. He told Action News the family's struggling to understand why this would happen.

"One thing about my brother: He ain't never been out here disrespecting nobody, you know?" said his brother, Chris Young. "He don't disrespect nobody. He gets along with everybody. Everybody get along with him."

Brown's neighbors confirmed as much. At least a half dozen of them said Brown was polite and happy every time they saw him.

"He was a nice guy so that's why it was sort of shocking that that happened," said neighbor Mike Ward.

Homicide detectives are equally stumped, for the moment. Along with crime scene investigators, they collected evidence and looked for clues. They say the shooting doesn't appear to be gang-related or drug-related, but they do believe Brown was the intended target.

The family next door, though, nearly became unintended victims when one of four or five bullets pierced a shared wall.

"It did go through the wall into the neighboring apartment and lodged, we think, in the ceiling," said Sgt. Dave Ramsey of the Fresno Police Department's homicide team.

Young spent some time with his brother on what turned out to be his last day of life. They played video games and made music, but for Young, it was just another day. He didn't know then he should be appreciating every last moment.

"That's the thing," Young said. "We weren't arguing, you know what I mean? We didn't get into it or nothing. None of that. Me and my brother get along like brothers are supposed to get along, you know?"

Police say there weren't any previous calls for service at the apartment here, so it's not a problem spot.