FRESNO - Northwest patrol officers from the Fresno Police Department responded to the neighborhood of Bullard/Cornelia Avenues regarding a daughter that shot another daughter with a handgun.
Upon arrival, officers found an 8-year old female with one gunshot wound to her lower torso. The juvenile was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center for treatment. The juvenile is in stable condition and at this juncture it does not appear her injury will be life threatening.
The father, who is employed with the Madera County Sheriff's Department, was in his restroom getting ready for work and his weapon was just outside of that restroom. The father had removed the magazine from the weapon but did not clear the weapon of a round in the chamber. The 10-year-old picked up the weapon and one round discharged, hitting the 8- year old. The father immediately called 911 for an ambulance and Fresno Police also responded to the home.
Lieutenant Joe Gomez of the Fresno Police Department said the Fresno County District Attorneys Office would determine whether the deputy would face charges for the discharge of the weapon. Gomez said the departments reports would be submitted to the DA's office within the week.
Lieutenant. Bill Ward of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said the incident would be treated as a confidential personnel matter. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic event,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
At a press conference Friday evening Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney said the weapon used was the employee’s service weapon, a .40 cal Smith & Wesson, but that he did not feel this shooting would be a "career ending incident" and that the deputy would not be placed on paid administrative leave.
“I’ve considered the circumstance of what’s happened here and since he wasn’t directly involved with the discharge of the firearm, no, I will not be putting him on administrative leave.”
Varney said the deputy was cooperating with the Fresno Police and that following the outcome of their investigation the Madera County Sheriff’s Office would conduct an internal administrative investigation to determine if any of the department’s policies were violated.
The Sheriff wouldn't go into detail on the shooting because it is currently under investigation but did say, “the gun was only left unattended for a short time.”
Varney paraphrased state law: “If you are going to store your firearm within your home with the ammunition, it has to be outside of the access of anyone under 18.”
Varney warned other gun owners, “If you have a loaded firearm within your household, it takes a fraction of a second for something to go wrong.”
Varney said free gun locks are available by calling the Madera County Sheriff’s Office or any of its partner agencies, which also provide them to residents at no charge.
NOTE: B|V|N will not be releasing the name or rank of the deputy to protect his family's privacy during this trying time. If criminal charges are filed by the Fresno County District Attorney's office, at that time we will release the deputy's name.
