Fresno County Homicide: One dead, 2 others critically injured after shooting

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- homicide investigation or a domestic fight that ended with a suicide.

That what Fresno County sheriff's deputies are trying to determine as they investigate the scene where a man was found dead near Parlier.

"It's a homicide investigation right now, but there's no certainty that someone's responsible for his death," said Fresno County Sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti.

Investigators say the initial report came from Bethel and Rose Avenues near Selma, after a car with at least two gunshot victims inside flagged down a CHP officer. Also in the car, four children all under the age of four.

"We had a man and woman in a car and four small children," Botti said. "The man had a gunshot wound, a woman with a gunshot wound, and another woman driving who was not injured."

Those victims led investigators to a scene off Huntsman and Newmark Avenues where deputies found a man in his late 40's dead.

"There was a disturbance between them, and a man who had a gun," Botti said. "They said as they were trying to leave, shots were fired, two of them were struck and were trying to drive out to get help."

Authorities say the woman with life-threatening injuries and the person found dead were in a relationship, and have reason to believe this could be a domestic violence issue.

Investigators say while they haven't determined how the man died, it's a strong possibility it could be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"They'd all got done with a gathering, they were passing through the area," Botti said. "We're still trying to get the story straight between our victims on what exactly transpired, their relationship to each other, what exactly happened."

Investigators say they have a lot of evidence to collect but do say several rounds were fired.

They're also working on speaking with the victims to determine if the man found dead was the only shooter, or if any of the other victims had a weapon and fired back.

EMS transported the victims to Community Regional Medical Center. Investigators say the man is in critical condition, and the woman has life-threatening injuries.

At least two of the children in the car belong to the woman in life-threatening condition, and luckily none of them were injured.