The man who police say shot a Fresno Police officer during Saturday’s domestic disturbance call in Fresno stole a Fresno Police vehicle to escape the scene, Chief Mindy Casto confirmed.
The suspect, 56-year-old Paul Rodriguez Cisneros, used the stolen police vehicle to evade the perimeter on Saturday; it was the next day, on Sunday, when officers tracked him down to a home at Bardell and Vine avenues, according to Chief Casto.
“The officer that was shot, they barely stepped out of their car and hadn’t even left its presence when they took gunfire,” said Chief Casto. “And when they went to seek cover, because one had lost his gun and the other never saw the gunman, [the suspect] doubled back and took their patrol car.”
As the Fresno Police vehicle had an on-board GPS tracker, Chief Casto says it was easy to figure out where the suspect had gone in the stolen vehicle. The patrol vehicle was found in the area of Bardell and Vine avenues, where police also found the suspect.
Chief Casto said her officers quickly established that the suspect had escaped in one of their vehicles, but they had to clear the perimeter they had set before they could move on.
“We figured it out. It just took time working through the obvious chaos of a police officer who could have been killed. An officer was shot,” said Chief Casto. “So they’re busy trying to put a tourniquet on and rendering first aid. Meanwhile, in the chaos ensuing, the suspect had left really quickly in the [patrol] car.”
As of Monday evening, the suspect, 56-year-old Paul Rodriguez Cisneros, remains in a critical condition in the hospital.
