One dead in shooting near Fresno State

Fresno Bee 5/8/07

A California State University, Fresno, student living off campus is being accused of shooting three people late last night, killing one of them, at the University Village Apartments on Barstow Avenue, west of Cedar Avenue.

Currently, Barstow is closed to traffic from Cedar to 10th Street, and 10th is closed from Barstow to Robinson Avenue as the Fresno police SWAT team continues to negotiate with the shooter in an attempt to get him to surrender.

Fresno police have set up three-way cell phone communication with the suspect, identified as Jonquel Brooks, 19, of Hayward, Calif., his mother and police negotiators.

The 406-unit apartment complex has been evacuated, and those displaced have been directed to the Fresno State dining center. In a live press conference at 5:30 a.m., Police Chief Jerry Dyer issued a plea to the student, who has been identified as a criminology major, to surrender in hopes he was watching the news.

Fresno State remains open for classes today.

The dead man's identity has not yet been released but he was reported to be a 19-year-old former FSU student. The two other shooting victims, 19 and 22, both were treated for gunshot wounds and released from a local hospital, police said.

Fresno police were called to the apartment complex at 1680 E. Barstow Ave. about 11:15 p.m. on Monday by reports of the shooting. When they arrived, they were met by many people, including the two wounded men, fleeing the complex.

Police said that the incident started with an argument between Brooks and four other individuals. Brooks reportedly pulled a handgun and began shooting.

Police established a perimeter around the apartment complex and started the evacuations. A police command post has been set up at Bulldog Plaza on the northwest corner of Cedar and Barstow.