California nightlife district flooded with cops after string of shootings
Businesses in Fresno’s Tower District are growing frustrated with a string of shootings in the area — and demanding action from city leaders and law enforcement.
Just last weekend, 28-year-old Tyrone Miles was shot and killed near Olive and Linden avenues outside MIA Nightclub after bars had closed for the night. Security video captured a group of people arguing before a gunshot was heard.
Just 48 hours earlier, another man was killed in central Fresno. Muhammad Muhtaraam-Conley, 25, was shot during an argument outside Bulldog Liquor in the 400 block of East Shaw Avenue.
Last month, gunfire also erupted in the Tower District and sent one man to the hospital. In May, 27-year-old Charles Muhammad was arrested in connection with another shooting.
Business owners said the string of incidents is negatively impacting the nightlife district and rattling customers and merchants.
“To see it at your front door, in a place that’s beloved by the community to see this type of violence happen, it’s very disheartening and discouraging to the city as well as the tower district,” Lewis Everek, owner of Everek Hospitality Group, told ABC 30.
Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents part of the Tower District, told the outlet that law enforcement will continue to target criminal activity in the area.
Visitors to the district should expect a visible police presence during busy weekend hours. Arias said between 20 and 40 officers could be on patrol at any given time.
“If you misbehave and you’re responsible for fights, for a shooting, or any type of activity, whether it’s in Tower District or Downtown Fresno, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, you will be spending some time in jail,” Arias said.
As for the Miles case, Fresno police had announced no arrests as of Saturday morning. Detectives are seeking witnesses who may have information about the incident or cellphone video from around the time of the deadly shooting, the department said.
Police identified Malik Upshaw, 26, and Sakilian Drum, 20, as suspects in the Muhtaraam-Conley shooting. Drum turned himself in, but Upshaw remains at large.
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