City Adds Police, Loading Zones to Tower District After Fourth Shooting in Six Months
Fresno officials announced Monday they will assign additional police officers to three Tower District nightclubs and consolidate street vendors to a single parking lot following a shooting early Sunday that left two people injured — the fourth shooting in the district since May.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday at his home in Fowler on attempted murder charges. Police said nine shots were fired outside MIA Nightclub around 12:17 a.m. Sunday near Olive Avenue and Broadway Street. One victim was waiting in line, uninvolved in the dispute that preceded the shooting.
Mayor Jerry Dyer and Police Chief Mindy Casto announced the city will station additional officers in front of Vibez, MIA, and Bobby Salazar’s nightclubs on Olive Avenue. The city also will add loading zones from Palm Avenue to Van Ness Avenue and require street vendors to operate from a single location at the northwest corner of Van Ness and Fulton.
Councilmember Miguel Arias floated a “temporary shutdown of nightlife operations” over the weekend but that proposal was not discussed at Monday’s announcement. Business owners, including Bobby Salazar and MIA club representatives, opposed any closure. “That just keeps people away from Tower,” Salazar said.
Casto defended the department’s current deployment, saying 12 officers were already in the district when Sunday’s shooting occurred, with 25 to 30 officers there by night’s end. The Fresno Bee reported policing costs in the Tower District have increased more than 900%.
“I think it’s not an issue of doing more police officers necessarily,” Casto said. “We need to do things differently.” She said enforcement alone cannot solve the problem and called for partnerships among police, businesses, residents, and elected officials.
Paul Cruikshank, owner of Ragin’ Records, said the current approach is failing. “It’s broken if 16-year-olds are shooting and bystanders are getting hit.”
Previous shootings in May, August, and September included the killing of 28-year-old Tyrone Miles. Police made arrests in those cases.
The Breakdown
- A 16-year-old from Fowler was arrested Monday on attempted murder charges following a shooting outside MIA Nightclub early Sunday that injured two people.
- The city announced it will assign additional police officers to stand in front of Vibez, MIA, and Bobby Salazar’s nightclubs on Olive Avenue.
- New loading zones will be added on Olive Avenue from Palm Avenue to Van Ness Avenue.
- Street food vendors will be required to operate from a single location at the northwest corner of Van Ness and Fulton.
- Sunday’s shooting was the fourth in the Tower District since May. Previous shootings in May, August, and September included one fatality; police made arrests in those cases.
- Councilmember Miguel Arias proposed a temporary shutdown of Tower District nightlife but that was not discussed at Monday’s announcement. Business owners opposed any closure.
What This Means for You
Mayor Dyer and the city council control the police department’s budget and deployment strategy. The Fresno Bee reported policing costs in the Tower District have increased more than 900%. Four shootings have occurred in the district in the past six months, including one that struck a bystander waiting in line.
What You Can Do
Two community meetings are scheduled for Wednesday evening. One is at 5:30 p.m. at the Tower Theatre, organized by city leaders to discuss the announced changes and gather feedback on other possible solutions. A separate meeting is also planned Wednesday at the MIA club, announced before Sunday’s shooting.
What to Watch
The Fresno Bee reported policing costs in the Tower District have increased more than 900%, yet four shootings have occurred in six months, including one that struck a bystander uninvolved in any dispute. The sources do not state the total dollar figure behind that percentage increase, nor do they break down how much of that cost the city absorbs versus how much individual businesses pay for private security. Salazar said he spends roughly $800 per night for two officers outside his club, but it is unclear how much taxpayer money is actually at stake in the current deployment model versus the expanded one announced Monday.
Chief Casto said “we need to do things differently” but also defended the current deployment level, saying officers responded immediately because they were already on-site when Sunday’s shooting occurred. The sources do not state whether the rate of four shootings in six months is higher, lower, or unchanged compared to earlier periods, nor whether the expanded policing preceded or followed the start of that six-month span.
Business owner Lewis Everk and Chief Casto both called for partnerships and community-driven solutions, but the sources do not identify what specific partnerships currently exist, what resources they have, or what authority they hold to implement changes beyond what the police department and mayor’s office control.
Councilmember Arias proposed a temporary nightlife shutdown but it was not discussed at the Monday announcement, and business owners opposed it. The sources do not state whether Arias has the authority to implement such a shutdown unilaterally, whether it would require a council vote, or what legal basis the city would use.
One victim Sunday was a bystander waiting in line, uninvolved in the dispute. Chief Casto said the shooter had no apparent connection to any Tower business. The sources do not address whether the violence stems from the district’s nightlife operations themselves, or from individuals who come to the area specifically because of the crowds nightlife generates.
