Fresno Police Save Hostage with Precise Shot
FRESNO, Calif. — The Fresno Police Department has released a Critical Incident Video, including body-worn camera footage and FAX Bus dispatch recordings, related to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Thursday morning, April 10, 2025. The incident involved a high-risk hostage situation and a precision police response that ultimately saved the life of an elderly man.
According to police, the incident unfolded when officers from the Fresno Police Department’s FAX Unit were dispatched to a report of an armed woman causing a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers encountered a woman armed with a knife who had taken an elderly male hostage. The woman reportedly held the knife to the man’s back while threatening his life.
Faced with a life-threatening situation and limited tactical options, officers positioned themselves to take a precision shot. One officer, in a display of control and discipline under extreme pressure, fired a single round over the shoulder of the hostage. The shot struck the suspect, who immediately collapsed, allowing officers to safely secure the hostage and render aid.
Emergency medical personnel responded, and the suspect was treated on scene before being transported. The condition of the suspect has not been publicly released. The elderly hostage was unharmed and did not require hospitalization.
No officers or other civilians were injured during the incident.
The Fresno Police Department emphasized that the officer’s actions were taken to protect innocent life and that the decision to use force was based on an immediate threat to the hostage.
The department has stated that the investigation remains ongoing. Findings will be reviewed by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, as well as the department’s Internal Affairs Division and the Office of Independent Review.
As this is an active investigation, police say no additional comments will be made beyond the release of the video.
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I subscribed to your website because you said we could see it uncensored here, but the link leads to the same censored YouTube video.
Hello Michele, thank you for your comment. The reason for this is because CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) all require censorship of videos of this nature. This includes the CDNs that YouTube and Facebook use, as well as off-platform solutions we have looked at. Our only solution is to host our own video content, which is requiring significant set-up to have delivery of video without buffering world-wide which is taking a long time. So, for at least a few months, we have to follow the rules of the internet corporations, which require the censoring of all content. Police Central is looking for a solution to host all of our own content independently from the mainstream internet corporations. Our previous attempts at serving content without significant censorship have resulted in bans.