Police tape and a bullet hole were the evidence Sunday afternoon that a crime had occurred at the Sigma Nu fraternity home within view of the Fresno State campus.
Fresno Police Lt. Michael Landon said five people were arrested early Sunday morning after a 911 call suggested shots had been fired at the home. The alleged perpetrators, according to Landon, do not belong to the fraternity and are not students at the university.
Landon said police got a call about the shots fired just after midnight Sunday. He said four men and a woman arrived and had apparently tried to enter a private fundraiser being held at the home.
Sigma Nu President Nicholas Tregembo said the fraternity organization was hosting a charity event for the Autism Society of California by selling nachos. The event was hosted Saturday from 9 to 11:30 p.m. and was winding down when the shots were fired, he said Sunday.
Investigators believe the shooting happened when the group came to a security door in the back of the fraternity. Landon said some in the outside group spoke with someone on the other side. But after a short chat, and after not being allowed in, at least two shots were fired at the door in the direction of the home’s courtyard. Landon said the alleged crime appears to have been out of anger.
Sunday afternoon, a group of students was seen socializing in the courtyard as loud music echoed out.
Associated Students, Inc. President Blake Zante said his bedroom is next to the Sigma Nu home. He was awoken by the sound of gunfire, he told The Collegian. He added that the shooting calls for more crime awareness.
“I am fearful that people won’t take action until the next shooting when a student could possibly be severely hurt,” he said. “Let’s take steps now to prevent that.”
Landon added that the suspects live in the area where the shooting took place. By 2 a.m. Sunday, the police had located the four men and one woman along the 2100 block of Sierra Madre Avenue, but Landon could not say whether a gun was recovered. The suspects in question are in their mid-20s. Their names were not released.
Nobody was injured as a result of the shooting. And Landon said that the fraternity members have been helpful in the investigation.
Tregembo said 18 people live at the fraternity home but at the time of the shooting, there were about 22. The organization had continued its philanthropic efforts Sunday by joining other organizations in a softball tournament. Tregembo said the organization hosts a charity event once per semester.
The Fresno State Police Department also helped in the shooting investigation, according to Landon.