Gunfire erupts in Fresno's Tower District, 3 detained after chase

Late-night crowds in Fresno’s Tower District were interrupted by gunfire just after midnight Sunday, and the chaos spilled into an 8-mile police chase that ended with three people detained near Fowler and Armstrong avenues.

Fresno Police Lt. Zeb Price said officers first responded at 12:29 a.m. to reports of shots fired at 747 E. Olive Ave., near Bobby Salazar’s on Olive and Linden avenues. In the crowd, officers found a man with a non-threatening gunshot wound to the lower body and a woman who was injured in the rush. Investigators said they were still trying to determine whether her injury came from gunfire or from being trampled. Both victims were expected to recover.

Police also recovered shell casings at the scene while trying to determine how many shots were fired. A dark-colored sedan then fled, and officers pursued it about 8 miles east to the area of Fowler and Armstrong avenues. During the chase, police said someone inside the vehicle threw a gun from the car. Officers recovered the weapon and detained several people near an apartment complex. As of the latest report, no arrests had been announced, and detectives were still working to determine whether the detainees were directly connected to the shooting or whether the gun and the car were tied to a broader disturbance.

The incident carries immediate weight for the Tower District, where restaurants, bars and late-night businesses depend on a steady flow of customers who feel safe walking Olive Avenue after dark. The district is one of Fresno’s oldest neighborhoods and a leading cultural and entertainment destination, named for the historic Tower Theatre at Olive and Wishon. Its specific plan area covers about 1,869 acres and roughly 20,200 residents, making public safety there a concern not just for nightlife, but for the people who live, work and invest in the area every day.

That concern has been sharpened by other recent trouble around the Bobby Salazar’s name. A separate fire damaged the vacant Bobby Salazar’s on Blackstone Avenue on May 22, 2026, and the Fresno Bee described it as the second fire there in two years. In another case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Bobby Salazar, 63, was arrested on federal arson-related charges in 2025. Together, those events deepen the pressure on a corridor where crowds, policing and business confidence are already closely linked. Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call Fresno Police at 559-621-7000.