Teen mom and newborn baby fatally shot inside Fresno home. Police vow thorough investigation

A teenage mother and her 3-week-old baby were found dead from gunshot wounds in a southwest Fresno home on Saturday morning, Fresno police said.

Police received a call around 7:20 a.m. of a shooting at a residence on the 2500 block of South Fruit Avenue, just north of Jensen Avenue.

Family members stated they heard shots fired inside the home, which is fairly isolated and located in the middle of an orchard.

“On our arrival, officers tragically learned that there were two people deceased from gunshot wounds inside the home,” Fresno Deputy Police Chief Burke Farrah said.

When asked if there is any suspect information, Farrah responded early Saturday morning, “Not that we’re going to release at this time.”

Police didn’t immediately know how many people were living in the home, or if there was a disturbance prior to the shooting, which is part of detectives’ investigation.

“Our investigation is going to be lengthy,” Farrah said. “When something like this happens, we have to be very careful to make sure we get it absolutely right.”

Farrah said a homicide investigation team remained on scene Saturday afternoon and was collecting evidence in consultation with the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

Farrah said police chaplains and wellness officers were also sent to the scene to assist family there, and that peer counseling and support will also be provided to emergency responders.

The mother and baby’s deaths bring Fresno’s homicide total to 45 this year. They follow two other Fresno homicides earlier in the day: A fatal stabbing in downtown Fresno, and a man found dead of trauma to his body in the Tower District area. Following those deaths, a man was critically injured in a shooting outside a Home Depot in southeast Fresno.