3 McLane High School students arrested in shooting near school

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Two more McLane High School students have been arrested after a fight led to a shooting outside the school Wednesday afternoon, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday , the Fresno Police Department says they responded to a shots fired call at an Autozone near Clinton and Cedar where a fight broke out between a group of students.

One 15-year-old pistol-whipped a person, and a 16-year-old pulled out a gun– firing several shots striking a vehicle and a restaurant.

Following help from witnesses and videos recorded at the scene, detectives report they were able to locate and arrest the 16-year-old gunman in a nearby neighborhood.

MAGEC detectives and the Sheriff’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (ViCAT) worked over the next 60 hours to protect the campus, along with identifying and capturing anyone else who was responsible for Wednesday’s shooting.

Tony Botti with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office says they initially thought it was a gang-related shooting, which is now considered false.

“They’re not really gang members. They’re wannabes. You know, the information came out at first that they were gang members. So, we followed it like that. You know, to say, at the very least, they’re just two groups of people that were on opposite sides. They had some problems with each other,” Botti said.

MAGEC reported ultimately arresting the 15-year-old boy who pistol-whipped another teen and another 15-year-old boy who helped both gunmen dispose of their firearms. Those guns have still not been recovered.

“Those two that pointed the guns and fired the shots. They’re facing felony charges involving guns. The other 15-year-old is facing some conspiracy or accessory charges for helping out these other kids to try and get rid of their weapons,” Tony Botti, Public Information Officer for Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, nobody was shot and the guns have not been recovered.

Officials don’t know if the guns were on campus earlier that day.

“We don’t know that for sure. I mean, there’s a fair assumption that might be true given how quickly after they got out of class that they now were pointing these guns at people,” Botti said.

Authorities say they hope these arrests bring relief to the McLane High School community and advise if you see something, speak up.

“If you see somebody that’s in possession of a weapon at school or they’re talking about the fact that, hey, I’ve got something on me, take it seriously, report it to staff, report it to law enforcement so that we can look into it right away,” Botti said.

Even though arrests have been made, anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111.

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