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UPDATE Police: Fresno murder-suicide sparked by dog dispute
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Police say 59-year-old Franko Cardoza was shot and killed by 74-year-old Dan Andersen, who later took his own life.
Neighbors said both men had lived in the Bullard West condo complex on North West Avenue for several years.
Cardoza is a well-known florist in Fresno. Andersen was an insurance salesman. Fresno police said those two men reached a boiling point, after years of arguing over a dog.
Fresno police said Cardoza was shot in the leg outside his condo. As he tried to get back into his home, he was shot in the back of the head, and died.
"We're sad that anybody could be attacked like that, so violently," said neighbor Paula Fansler.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the shooter is 74-year-old Dan Andersen, Cardoza's neighbor.
Thursday evening Cardoza's dog apparently ended up in the Andersen's yard.
That argument, Chief Dyer and neighbors said, had been happening for years.
After the shooting Andersen left the complex, according to police. Officers tracked him down to River Park in north Fresno an hour and half later. "The vehicle drove into the parking lot, the officers pulled around in front of the vehicle to block his escape route and parked in front of the vehicle," Chief Dyer said.
That's when police say he shot and killed himself.
"They're both hotheaded, both of them," Sheila Smith said. She said both of the men served on the complex's home owner's board. She said they had argued before. She saw Andersen holding his gun and confronted him.
"I said quit shooting, you're scaring my parents, they're 90 years old," she said. "It was a very loud gun, very loud."
Skip Sargenti told Action News he still cannot understand how an argument over a dog could lead to a murder.
"It's a wake-up call, it can happen anywhere at any time," he said.
Dyer also said at this point it's not clear whether the past arguments over the dog were heated enough to involve police.
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UPDATE Police: Fresno murder-suicide sparked by dog dispute
