46-year-old man shot and killed in central Fresno, police searching for 28-year-old suspect

Police say Silvano Villa-Fierro and Kelon White got into a fight in the apartment before White shot Villa-Fierro.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023
46-year-old man shot and killed in central Fresno, police searching for 28-year-old suspect
A man has died following a shooting in central Fresno and police are now searching for the suspect accused of killing him.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man has died following a shooting in central Fresno and police are now searching for the suspect accused of killing him.

The shooting happened inside an apartment on Clinton and Weber just after 4 pm Sunday.

When officers arrived, they found 46-year-old Silvano Villa-Fierro shot.

He was rushed to a local hospital where he later died.

Lt. Paul Cervantes with the Fresno Police Department says the investigation revealed 28-year-old Kelon White as a suspect for Villa-Fierro's murder.

"I can tell you that Kelon does have a criminal history, he is a gang member, some of his criminal history dates all the way back to 2010. Some of those arrests include auto theft, robbery, shootings and things of that sort," said Lt. Cervantes.

Villa-Fierro's death is being classified as the 20th homicide in the city of Fresno so far this year.

Photo of 28-year-old Kelon White provided by the Fresno Police Department.

Homicides are still down this year compared to previous years in the city of Fresno.

In 2021, 42 people died by July 17th, compared to 32 people in 2022, and 20 so far this year.

"I can tell you that the number of officers that are out there proactively working, the fact that we implemented the district safety teams -- all of that in conjunction with our efforts to reduce violent crime, I believe play a big factor," said Lt. Cervantes.

While shootings are also down by 12% overall, Lt. Cervantes adds there is still more work to do.

"I am not taking a victory lap at all, 40% decrease is good, but I believe there is a lot of room to improve," said Lt. Cervantes.

Authorities say White left the scene and is now wanted for murder.

Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Fresno Police Department.

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