Bulldog gang member arrested for Southwest Fresno shooting

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Bulldog gang member Salvador Diaz has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Southwest Fresno.

The Fresno Police Department says the 29-year-old shot his next-door neighbor after the two got into a fight in the front yard of Diaz's home Wednesday night near Oleander and Plumas.

Lt. Mark Hudson said, "He's a self-admitted Bulldog gang member, so he was booked into jail for assault with a deadly weapon for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for being a felon in possession of ammunition and also in violation of his probation."

The victim was hit in the left thigh and is expected to recover.

Officers arrived just after 10 pm. The city's shot spotter technology alerted law enforcement of multiple gunshots in the area.

Diaz was arrested a short distance away after getting into a car with four known gang members and speeding away from the scene.

Two loaded guns, including the one used in the shooting, were found in that vehicle.

"There were two guns recovered in this vehicle that this shooter was stopped and arrested in," said Lt. Hudson. "We took two guns off the streets in Southwest Fresno one was involved in a shooting."

Despite Wednesday's gun violence, police say shootings in Southwest Fresno are actually down 33 percent as compared to this time last year, and violent crime is down 14 percent.

Lt. Hudson says the drop in crime can be attributed to proactive policing, "When police are getting to the people just like in this case they were there right after shot spotter alerted us and made an arrest. We're taking people off the streets that are doing these shootings. We're also taking guns off the streets that are actually involved in these shootings."

Neighbors say that's not enough.

For people like Marina Torres, crime in the area is a reality and continues to be a problem.

"It's just shooting all over the place and it's not safe. There is a school down the street. There are a lot of little kids who walk home from school. It is awful."