Authorities said the suspect left eastbound on Barstow Avenue after two men were shot during a disturbance.
FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno homicide detectives are searching for a gunman who police say opened fire during a disturbance at a northwest Fresno apartment complex early Sunday, killing one man and injuring another before escaping in a vehicle.
The investigation centers on what police described as a dispute linked to a resident at the Colonia Del Sol apartments near Barstow and Blackstone avenues. The dead man was identified as 32-year-old Shannon Ivory. A 22-year-old man survived a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was reported in stable condition. Detectives say the key questions now are who fired, what sparked the confrontation and whether surveillance video or witness accounts can firmly place a suspect at the scene.
Police said officers were dispatched just after midnight on Sunday, March 15, to reports of a shooting at the complex. They arrived at about 12:32 a.m. and found Ivory in the carport suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body. Officers and paramedics treated him before he was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he later died. As the scene was secured, detectives found the second victim on an upstairs landing, wounded in the abdomen. Police spokesperson Brian Valdez said investigators saw signs suggesting a shot may have been fired inside an apartment, but said they knew both victims were shot in the carport area. That distinction has become central to the timeline detectives are trying to build.
According to police, neither of the two men lived at the apartment complex. Investigators believe they arrived with a woman who was picking up belongings. At some point during that visit, authorities said, the men became involved in a confrontation with a resident. Detectives then said an unknown man connected to that resident produced a gun and fired several shots. The shooter was reported to have fled eastbound on Barstow Avenue in a vehicle. Police have not released a description of the suspect, the vehicle, or any possible weapon. They also have not said whether the suspected gunman knew the victims before the encounter or whether the shooting grew out of a personal dispute already in progress.
The case has drawn attention not only because it left one man dead, but because it unfolded at an apartment complex where the people shot were not believed to be residents. That detail suggests the violence may have grown out of a private conflict carried into a shared living space. Fresno police said the homicide was the city’s fifth of the year, compared with two at the same point in 2025. Local reports said officers canvassed the surrounding neighborhood for witnesses and camera footage, a routine but often decisive step in cases where the shooter leaves before officers arrive. In apartment clusters near major streets, cameras from neighboring buildings, parking lots and passing vehicles can shape whether a case stalls or moves quickly toward an arrest.
As of Monday, March 23, no arrest had been publicly announced, and police had not said whether prosecutors had reviewed the case for immediate charges. Investigators have said they are working with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office as they gather statements, confirm the sequence of events and test the evidence needed for a homicide filing. The surviving victim’s condition was described as stable in early reports, though police have not released further medical updates. They also have not said whether any resident has been detained, questioned or ruled out. Until detectives identify the gunman, the case remains open on both the homicide and assault counts connected to the two victims.
Police have also emphasized the neighborhood impact. After shootings, Valdez said, the department sends proactive units into affected areas to ease fear and maintain visibility. That response reflects a second track in cases like this one: the criminal investigation and the effort to reassure residents who wake to patrol cars and crime-scene tape outside their homes. In this case, investigators appear to be relying on a mix of witness interviews, scene reconstruction and digital evidence to close the gap between what they know happened and what they can prove happened. What remains unknown is the motive, whether the argument escalated inside an apartment before moving outside, and how many people directly witnessed the gunfire.
Detectives said the investigation was continuing Monday, with the next major step likely to be the release of a suspect description, an arrest announcement or court charges tied to the shooting near Barstow and Blackstone. Until then, the case remains one of Fresno’s unresolved homicides of 2026.
Author note: Last updated March 23, 2026.