The police chief says the victims were visiting relatives in the area before their car became the target of angry gang members ready to settle a fight. But they got the wrong car.
Fresno Police say 20 bullets from an assault rifle were fired into the car Friday night. Inside were an innocent man and his two children. Police say the three were targeted simply for the car they were riding in.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, "This vehicle was mistakenly thought to be the vehicle that contained members of an opposing gang from West Fresno."
Police say 35-year-old Shalander Givens was taken into custody Sunday on three counts of attempted murder. He was on parole and has a violent criminal past. Myishea Anderson and Wendell Moton are still wanted for questioning.
Investigators say the child's father was hit during the shooting as he maneuvered around to protect his children. His 5-year-old son was in the backseat at the time, his 9-year-old daughter in the front.
"Not only did he grab his son and push him onto the floorboard, to keep him from being shot, he also shielded that child as well as his 9-year-old girl. It was at the time he shielded her he received a round into his hip," said Chief Dyer.
His daughter was shot just above her eye. The bullet is still lodged in her head ... the chief says she suffered critical injuries but is expected to survive. The 5-year-old had minor cuts. The father is also recovering.
Investigators say a fruit stand in West Fresno was the place two rival gangs got into a scuffle on Father's Day weekend. One gang was trying to settle things once and for all, and they got the wrong car.
"Here's a family that doesn't know whether or not their baby girl their 9-year-old girl is going to survive and it's all because of senseless violence as a result of mistaken identity with someone they had a beef with in Southwest Fresno. We're just asking for it to stop."
The 9-year-old is coherent and talking. Monday night she is critical but stable. Her family is by her bedside at Children's Hospital Central California where she is recovering.
