A verbal argument in a northeast Fresno liquor store parking lot turned deadly Thursday night, leaving a 25-year-old man dead. Fresno police say a ShotSpotter alert reported gunfire just after 10:30 p.m. outside Bulldog Liquor, after which officers responded to a verbal-disturbance call.
According to the Fresno Police Department, officers received a ShotSpotter notification reporting a single round fired at 10:32 p.m. on September 24, then responded to a verbal-disturbance call at Bulldog Liquor, 420 E. Shaw Avenue. Officers and EMS personnel provided life-saving measures at the scene to the victim, identified as 25-year-old Muhammad Muhtaraam-Conley, before he was transported to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said. As reported by GV Wire, the shooting unfolded in the parking lot of Bulldog Liquor on Shaw Avenue.
Homicide detectives determined that a verbal disturbance broke out in the business parking lot before the gunfire, according to the Fresno Police Department. Detectives continue to investigate the case.
California Murder Penalties
California Penal Code Section 187(a) is the state's primary statutory murder charge; first-degree murder carries 25 years to life in state prison, while second-degree murder carries 15 years to life, per the Shouse Law Group.
The shooting scene was at Bulldog Liquor at 420 E. Shaw Avenue.
ShotSpotter Alerted Police to Gunfire
Officers received the ShotSpotter alert before responding to a verbal-disturbance call.
The alert reported a single round fired outside Bulldog Liquor.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Parking Lot Violence
This is not the first fatal parking lot shooting Fresno homicide detectives have investigated in recent weeks. On September 16, detectives investigated a late-night commercial parking lot shooting on Palm Avenue that killed 34-year-old Tiffany Stewart, who succumbed to her injuries at the scene despite paramedic intervention, as Hoodline previously reported.
Fresno police say the investigation into Conley's death remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Homicide Detective N. Morales at 559-621-2449 or Detective J. Espinoza at 559-621-2415. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Valley Crime Stoppers at 559-498-STOP (7867), according to GV Wire.
