Fresno sees violent start to new year compared to 2019

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Leftover police crime scene tape is an eerie reminder from a violent weekend that saw two people killed in separate Fresno shootings.

"We still have detectives out there making contact to see if anybody wasn't home this weekend that we may be able to contact today," says Lt. Larry Bowlan.

Twenty-six-year-old Brandon Thompson, police say, was gunned down while walking home in East Central Fresno at around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Investigators located multiple shell casings in the area and are not ruling out if the shooting was gang-related, but say Thompson was not armed at the time.

"At this point we know there was some type of confrontation, we don't know who that was with or how many other individuals that were with, but it appears he was minding his own business when he was confronted by someone or several people," Bowlan said.

Thirteen hours earlier, Florentino Higuera was murdered when someone fired at his home on the 3800 block of East McKenzie. Homicide Detectives do not believe the 43-year-old was the intended target

Shotspotter alerted officers to the area after it reported six shots went off.

Police say Higuera suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and later died at the hospital.

"We think there was someone at the residence that was the intended target," Bowlan said. "Those suspects then fled, but we're not sure how if it was in a vehicle or on foot. We think people in the neighborhood may have seen something or heard something, and we're hoping they're willing to come forward."

Two separate unsolved murders and two different makeshift memorials brings the city's total number of homicides to three in 2020, which is three more than this time last year.

In 2019, Fresno didn't register its first homicide until January 19.