Suspect identified in deadly officer-involved shooting in Fresno County

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County deputies say they were forced to open fire on Friday night, killing a suspect when they received a call about a break-in on Church and West.

Authorities have identified the suspect as 32-year-old Kenneth Mullins, who was homeless at the time of the incident.

They say Mullins broke into that business before confronting deputies.

Fresno County sheriff's officials aren't sure what he did then, but it was enough to get two deputies to fire multiple rounds.

"We're going to do a thorough investigation to get as many answers as possible," said Tony Botti of the sheriff's office.

Fresno County sheriff's officials say they got a call around 5 p.m. Friday evening from the owner of Jamie's Auto Dismantling.

He told deputies he walked into his business and found a man in the office who was either sleeping or passed out.

"He did relay to us that there were firearms inside his business and was concerned this person may have gotten access to those," said Botti.

He said deputies went in assuming they were dealing with a possibly armed person.

Deputies then tried to get Mullins to come out and had K-9s on hand while utilizing a robot to find the intruder.

"Just as it got close to this man, he picked up the robot and threw it. Three minutes after that, he exited the building and confronted our deputies. They demanded he stop, and ultimately two of our deputies fired at the suspect," said Botti.

Mullins died at the scene. No deputies were injured.

It's not clear if Mullins was armed, but deputies say they had no choice but to shoot.

"Our people take this seriously. The last thing they want to do on a shift is have to draw their gun and pull the trigger," said Botti.

One of the deputies is a veteran of the department. The other has quite a few years of experience.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast.