Tower District Safety Plan Faces First Test as Shooting Damages Businesses Days After Launch

A shooting early Sunday morning damaged two Tower District businesses during the first weekend of Fresno’s new safety strategy for the area, raising immediate questions about the plan’s return on investment just days after the mayor and city council launched it.

Officers responded around 2:24 a.m. near Fulton Street and Dennett Avenue after at least 10 rounds were fired outside an Airbnb where a rap video was being filmed. Security video shows two groups exchanging words before gunfire erupted. A nail studio on Dennett Avenue sustained a bullet hole in the wall, and another business on Fulton Street had a window damaged.

Police say several people who were denied entry to the video shoot left and fired multiple rounds before fleeing. No injuries were reported. Officers who were already nearby as part of the city’s increased foot patrols heard the shots and responded, locating multiple shell casings.

The city’s Tower District safety plan was announced days after an Oct. 18 shooting that injured two people, including a bystander waiting outside a nightclub. That incident prompted residents to question why existing police presence hadn’t reduced crime rates. The plan launched October 21 — less than a week before Sunday’s shooting.

According to the Fresno Police Department, the city recorded 128 shooting incidents at this point last year, one of the lowest years on record. This year stands at 132 incidents — four more than last year at the same time.

The Breakdown

• The mayor and city council implemented a Tower District safety strategy on October 21 including increased foot patrols, designated pickup/drop-off zones on Olive Avenue, brighter street lighting, a minor curfew, crackdowns on late-night nightclub patios, and relocated food vendors.
• The shooting occurred around 2:24 a.m. Sunday near Fulton Street and Dennett Avenue, one block south of the Tower Theatre, during the plan’s first weekend of operation.
• Police say the people involved had no connection to Tower District activities along Olive Avenue — the shooting happened at an Airbnb during a private rap video filming.
• Two businesses sustained damage: a nail studio with a bullet hole in the wall and a bullet on the floor, and another business with window damage requiring boarding.
• The Tower District has experienced multiple violent incidents this year: a New Year’s Day stabbing, shootings in May and August, a September 26 homicide that killed 28-year-old Tyrone Miles, and the October 18 nightclub shooting that injured two people.

What This Means for You

The mayor and city council just implemented a safety plan with specific components — foot patrols, lighting, vendor relocation — and the first weekend produced a shooting that damaged two businesses. Deputy Chief Joe Alvarez said ahead of the weekend he hoped for “an incredibly quiet weekend where people just get to enjoy the businesses with nothing else happening.” That’s not what happened.

Residents quoted in previous reporting had already asked how officials would follow through on the plan and whether the city would overreact in ways that hurt the district’s viability. The shooting count — 132 incidents this year versus 128 at this point last year — gives you a baseline to judge whether the city’s approach is moving the needle.

What You Can Do

The Fresno Police Department is asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 559-621-7000. The investigation remains ongoing.

What to Watch

Police say the shooting involved people with no connection to Tower District activities and occurred at a private Airbnb rental during a video shoot — not the kind of nightclub-adjacent incident the plan’s components (minor curfews, patio crackdowns, vendor relocation) seem designed to address.

The year-over-year shooting count — four more incidents this year than last at the same point — is a narrow margin, but it’s moving in the wrong direction.

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