Here’s what we know — and what we don’t know — about fatal Selma police officer shooting
One day after a Selma police officer died while on patrol, here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the fatal shooting.
It began around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday when a resident flagged down the officer in the 2600 block of Pine Street, just west of Highway 99 near Rose Avenue, and reported seeing a man in front of a house there.
The man “looked suspicious and was unknown to the area,” Selma police said.
The officer was attempting to make contact with the man when he was shot.
He did not have a chance to return fire.
Selma police, along with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals, California Highway Patrol and police from Fresno, Kingsburg and Parlier, swarmed to the scene, established a perimeter around the location for the investigation.
The suspect, who fled the scene, was spotted near Fig and Sequoia between noon and 12:15 p.m. and was detained and eventually arrested.
A gun was later found a short distance away.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives took over the investigation.
The officer was taken to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, where he went into surgery and later died.
Who were the officer and suspect?
Law enforcement identified both the officer and the shooter on Wednesday morning.
Gonzalo Carrasco Jr. had been with the Selma Police Department for two years. He was the son of farmworkers from Reedley and an expectant father, according to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
He had put himself through school and the police academy and prior to working in Selma, was part of the Reedley Police Department’s Explorer Program.
He was the first Selma police officer to die in the line of duty.
The suspect is a 23-year-old man with a criminal history.
Nathaniel Dixon had been arrested for firearms possession and robbery in the past, and had served time in prison.
He was on probation at the time of the shooting, after having been sentenced to five years and four months in prison last March. By September, he had been released due to prison realignment and placed on Post Release Community Supervision, the DA’s office said.
He is held without bail at the Fresno County Jail, according to jail records.
So far, there are no details about what happened prior to the altercation with the officer that may have led to the shooting.
The officer’s body was transported via procession Tuesday night from Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office south of Fresno.
Selma residents gathered at Veterans Plaza to mourn the officer.
