Fresno Police Chief attributes police quick response to downtown shooting to Shot Spotter

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A community in mourning after a shooter opened fire killing three of their own.

"It's heart breaking-- innocent people got killed here," said Cheryl Gonzales, Fresno.

Many thankful the suspect was stopped almost immediately after. Police Chief Jerry Dyer attributes officer's quick response to Shot Spotter technology.

The technology recorded 16 shots fired in less than two minutes.

"A shot spotter pin points within a few feet of where the rounds were fired from and provides us with an address," said Dyer.

The first activation came in at 10:45-- three other locations came in showing the shooter moved from Van Ness to Fulton on Mildreda prior to the shooter surrender.

According to police, when the sensors pick up the profile of a gunshot they are routed through a Shot Spotter service. That information is then forwarded to the police department and patrol vehicles. An officer is able to view the location on a computer map in their unit.

"We know there's a slight delay but generally that's well under 30 seconds," said Dyer.

Often times as short of a delay as 15 seconds.

The technology came to Fresno in July of 2015 starting with three square miles of coverage. Each device has anywhere from 15 to 20 sensors, strategically placed and tuned to pick up the sound waves of a gunshot.

While the Cal Grip Grant funded the first three square miles the service expanded with Fresno Unified funding an additional three square miles, near schools in the southeast and southwest parts of the city.

Since first implemented, the technology has had more than 1,100 detections.