The speedy arrest in this case may have averted another tragedy, he said. The suspect then threw himself on the ground and surrendered.įresno Officer Nicholas El-Helou said it is rare for police relying on traditional dispatch calls to arrive while a gunman is still on the scene.

Muhammad had tossed aside his empty gun moments before the officer pulled up, according to police. The information can be sent to officers on the street via their smartphones and their squad-car computer screens, as was the case in Fresno.įresno police said officers were alerted to the gunfire by ShotSpotter even before they received any word from the dispatchers who take 911 calls, and the system pinpointed the shooter’s location to within a matter of feet. The system can tell police the location and time the shots were fired, how many there were, and sometimes the type of weapon, the number of shooters and whether they changed location as they fired. Computers and technicians at a California-based center distinguish the sound of gunfire from other noises and triangulate the shots, in much the same way that cell towers are used to zero in on the location of a cellphone. ShotSpotter of Newark, California, requires the installation of numerous sensitive microphones. Police in Fresno have had it for the past two years. cities, including New York San Francisco Oakland, California and Chicago, as well as Cape Town, South Africa, according to ShotSpotter. The technology police credit with stopping Muhammad is used by about 90 U.S. Prosecutors say they are holding off on three additional charges while investigators piece together their case. Police said he told them Carl Williams, who was also white, showed him disrespect.Īuthorities say he decided to kill more white people when he learned he was wanted in Williams’ death. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder Thursday in the killing of a motel security guard days before the rampage. Police say Muhammad randomly targeted white men he encountered in a tree-lined Fresno neighborhood, firing 17 rounds within a few minutes before running out of ammunition, police said.

Gunfire quick word