Gunfire erupted early Sunday morning in Fresno's Tower District after a group of people turned away from an Airbnb rental opened fire before running off, police said. No one was hurt, but the shots left at least one nearby business damaged — and the episode landed during the opening weekend of the city's brand-new safety crackdown for the neighborhood.
Officers were called to the area near Fulton Street and Dennett Avenue, about a block south of the Tower Theatre, around 2:24 a.m. after reports of shots fired, according to ABC30. Police say the home at the center of it all had been rented out as an Airbnb so someone could film a rap video, a detail first reported by KMPH.
Investigators say several people who tried to get into the home were denied entry, then opened fire multiple times as they left and fled the scene. Surveillance footage reviewed by police showed two groups meeting outside the Dennett Avenue house before at least 10 rounds were fired, per the station's report.
Stray Rounds Strike Nearby Business
The gunfire didn't stay contained to the Airbnb property. ABC30's report states that gunfire damaged two businesses in the Tower District, while KMPH separately reported that a business on Fulton Avenue was hit. Despite the damage, no injuries were reported from the shooting, and police say the people involved had no connection to Tower District activities along Olive Avenue, where much of the neighborhood's nightlife is concentrated.
The shooting remains under investigation, and it's not yet known whether anyone has been arrested. Fresno police are asking anyone with information to come forward and contact the department.
New Safety Plan Barely a Day Old
The timing is hard to ignore. The shooting occurred during the first weekend of Fresno's new safety strategy for the Tower District, a plan rolled out after a string of violent incidents in the entertainment corridor. The approach includes increased foot patrols, designated pickup and drop-off zones along Olive Avenue, brighter street lighting and a relocation of food vendors to a designated vendor area, according to the same ABC30 account.
That plan followed what GV Wire described as the area's fourth shooting since May, which prompted city officials to also move forward with converting roughly 18 curbside parking spaces into designated passenger loading zones. Those changes were expected to take effect this past Thursday and be enforced around the clock, GV Wire reported.
A Pattern of Violence Near Olive Avenue
The fourth shooting GV Wire referenced happened outside MIA Nightclub near Olive Avenue and Broadway Street around 12:17 a.m., according to an earlier ABC30 report, when a gunman fired nine shots at close range and struck two people, including an innocent bystander. Just days before Sunday's incident, an October 18 shooting injured two people, including a bystander waiting in line outside a nightclub, per ABC30.
The violence this year has not been limited to the nightlife strip. On September 26, 28-year-old Tyrone Miles was shot and killed near Olive and Linden, and police arrested a 19-year-old in connection with that killing. The year had opened with a New Year's Day stabbing outside Bobby Salazar's that injured two men and led to three arrests, according to ABC30's reporting.
Citywide Numbers Tell a Mixed Story
Zoomed out, the citywide data paints a complicated picture. KMPH reported that Fresno has logged 132 shooting incidents so far this year, four more than the 128 recorded at the same point last year. Meanwhile, YourCentralValley.com reported that Fresno police have responded to 23 homicides so far in 2026, up from 15 at the same time in 2025.
Despite that rise in homicides, Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto has said violent crime overall is still down 9% in the city, and that shootings overall remain down year to date, according to the same YourCentralValley.com report. For now, the Tower District shooting remains an open case, with investigators still trying to determine who fired the shots and why they were denied entry into the rental in the first place.
