Witnesses detail gruesome scene after a man was killed in SE Fresno

Vanessa Vasconcelos Image
Monday, March 19, 2018
Witnesses detail gruesome scene after a man was killed in SE Fresno
Police have identified the victim as 33-year-old Elias Lopez.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police have identified the victim as 33-year-old Elias Lopez.

They say he was in locked in a motor home when he was shot at, and authorities need your help finding the suspect.

Crime scene tape and police cruisers kept Recreation Avenue at Thomas blocked off throughout Sunday afternoon.

It was 10:15 p.m. on Saturday when officers responded to a shot spotter call to find a man shot to death in his trailer.

Police say they do not know how many times the victim was hit, but say several rounds were fired.

Fresno Police is investigating a shooting in Southeast Fresno that left one man dead.

"Evidence located in the street supports what the ShotSpotter indicated," said Fresno Police Department Lt. Michael Landon.

Homicide detectives spent much of the evening canvassing the area and speaking to witnesses like Zackary Yarbrough.

"I heard something hit a window, then I heard shots fired and then I heard someone yell and next thing I know, I hear the neighbor's pit bull barking," said witness Yarbrough.

The 22-year-old, whose house borders the crime scene, says he heard eight to nine shots fired.

"The guy who did it locked it from the outside with a padlock, let him know he was there, that's when shots were fired," said Yarbrough.

Yarbrough has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades and says this is not new to him. He is just glad his family was not hit by gunfire.

"First time I got shot at, I was five or six. The second time, I wasn't even bothered by it. I've been around killings my entire life, so what's the point of being scared," said Yarbrough.

According to investigators, it does not seem as though this is related to the area's recent spike in gang activity.