A man was hospitalized early Tuesday after being shot by a Fresno County sheriff's deputy during a confrontation at a home on Del Rey Avenue, just south of Manning Avenue. No deputies were injured in the incident, and the suspect, a 28-year-old man, is expected to survive.
According to ABC30, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tony Botti described the confrontation, gunfire, the deputy's response, the man's injury and anticipated booking. The Sheriff's Office told KMPH the shooting happened around 3 a.m. at the home on Del Rey Avenue.
A separate account from YourCentralValley.com says deputies received a call around 2 a.m. about the same address, with the two reports differing slightly on the exact timing of events. That outlet reported the call initially came in describing a suicidal man armed with a gun, but deputies later learned the man did not live at the house.
Call Evolves Into Possible Domestic Violence Case
Deputies determined the man was visiting a woman he was in a relationship with, and the situation was reclassified as a possible domestic violence case, per the station's report. Deputies say the man fired a gun into the air and was later found hiding a gun behind his back when he was located at the scene.
When deputies tried to get the man to surrender, he reportedly moved in a way that prompted a deputy to fire a rifle, striking him at least once, the same account states. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive. No deputies were hurt during the encounter.
Investigation Remains Active
KMPH said it would update its reporting as more information becomes available, while ABC30 reported details from Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tony Botti, including the reported assault, gunfire, perimeter, drone, rifle shot, injury and expected booking. The exact number of shots fired and the full extent of the suspect's injuries have not been disclosed.
Del Rey, an unincorporated community in Fresno County, has seen other violent incidents involving law enforcement in recent years, though none of those cases have been tied to Tuesday's shooting. In April 2024, deputies arrested two people, a juvenile and a young adult, after a shooting on South Oak Lane that GoldRushCam reported left a young man with gunshot wounds; authorities considered that case gang-related.
Other Del Rey-area incidents reported by local outlets include a shotgun shooting that wounded a neighbor, after which ABC30 said deputies arrested the shooter, and a pursuit that reached 90 miles per hour before the driver crashed into an orchard, as detailed by KMPH in its report on the arrest of 44-year-old Armando Lopez of Parlier. Those cases remain unrelated to Tuesday's shooting as far as available reporting shows.
As of Tuesday, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office had not released the suspect's name or formal charges, but spokesperson Tony Botti provided ABC30 extensive specifics about the shooting. The investigation into the incident on Del Rey Avenue remains ongoing.
