Shotspotter detects 100 calls of gunfire as Fresno enters 2020

Thursday, January 2, 2020
Shotspotter detects at least 100 calls of celebratory gunfire as Fresno enters 2020
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Fresno Police officers are going through Shotspotter logs, pinpointing where celebratory fire erupted, so that people who negligently discharged a gun are held responsible.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Ringing in the new year often involves the sounds of celebratory gunfire.

Gordon Ramsey heard a mixture of fireworks and gunshots - noises his neighbor Alysa Astrada could not ignore in this central Fresno neighborhood.

Fresno police say once the clock struck 12, there were at least a hundred Shotspotter calls throughout the city.

And while the technology is able to differentiate between fireworks and gunfire, Lt. Mark Hudson says there is always a concern about where stray bullets are landing.

"Last year we had at least two people get hit by gunfire. They were non life-threatening wounds; however this is very dangerous and can kill someone."

It's something Juan Maestas thinks about too.

"Bullets are definitely a concern for myself and my family and other families," says Maestas.

Now officers are going through Shotspotter logs, pinpointing where celebratory fire erupted, so that people who negligently discharged a gun are held responsible for the crime they committed.

"It's a felony. So officers will in the next week follow up on these calls to determine who fired those guns and there will be people arrested," says Hudson.