A man was stabbed to death in front of a home in Fresno early Saturday morning, and homicide detectives are still searching for whoever did it. Officers rushed to the area of Mayor Avenue and Tulare Street just after 3:30 a.m. and found the victim suffering from a stab wound; he was later pronounced dead, police said.
According to the Fresno Bee, the man was attacked directly in front of a residence before officers arrived. Homicide detectives have taken over the investigation and have not released a description of a suspect. Investigators have been canvassing the neighborhood for surveillance video that might show what happened in the moments before the attack, the newspaper reported.
A nearby Mayor Avenue address is listed in the Edison neighborhood and ZIP code 93706, and the Zillow listing names Lincoln Elementary and Edison High School. No arrests had been announced as of Saturday morning, and police asked anyone with information to call 559-621-7000.
A Week of Violence Across the City
The Tulare and Mayor stabbing is the latest in a string of violent incidents Fresno police have responded to in recent days. Just seven days earlier, on October 3, officers found a 33-year-old man shot and killed near Warren and Ashlan avenues in Central Fresno, as previously reported by Hoodline. Officers in that case located the victim inside a garage before homicide detectives began canvassing the surrounding area.
Fresno has also seen non-fatal violence in the same stretch, including an unsolved assault on Olive Avenue in which a woman clubbed a man with a metal object and fled before officers arrived. Earlier in the year, a New Year's Day stabbing in the Tower District injured two men and led to the arrest of three suspects on felony assault charges with gang enhancements, according to KMJNOW.
Homicides Up From Last Year, Still Far Below 2020 Peak
Fresno had logged 23 homicides citywide as of October 5, up from 15 recorded during the same stretch of 2025, though the pace remains well below the historic high of 74 homicides the city saw in both 2020 and 2021, according to Wisevoter, which cited figures Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto presented during a departmental update. That uptick follows a historic low in 2025, when the city recorded just 22 homicides total, a 51-year record low following sharp declines in gang-related violent crime, per a report from GV Wire.
Despite the modest rise in homicides this year, the Fresno Police Department has maintained a 96 percent clearance rate on its 2026 homicide cases. The same Wisevoter report said only two murders from the 2026 period remained unsolved at the time of its October 6 update. Investigators have not said whether they believe the Mayor Avenue stabbing was the result of a dispute, a robbery, or a random encounter.
Reward Offered in Shelton Case
Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,000 reward for information about the 2021 shooting death of Dylan Shelton, according to GV Wire. Tipsters can reach the organization through its hotline at 559-498-STOP, its web portal, or by text message.
If homicide detectives eventually identify and arrest a suspect, California law lays out steep potential consequences. Under Penal Code Section 187, a first-degree murder conviction carries 25 years to life in state prison, while second-degree murder carries 15 years to life, according to DCD Law. Should charges instead be filed as assault with a deadly weapon under Penal Code Section 245(a)(1), that wobbler offense carries up to four years in state prison or one year in county jail, plus fines as high as $10,000, per Power Trial Lawyers.
No suspect description has been released, and detectives continue to canvass the area for video evidence as the investigation unfolds.
