The Selma police officer who was shot and killed in the small city just southeast of Fresno, California, on Tuesday has been identified.
Authorities recognized the officer as 24-year-old Gonzalo Carrasco Jr. He was with the department for two years.
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Nathaniel Dixon.
Carrasco Jr. graduated from Reedley High School in 2016, where he played football and basketball. The shooting happened around 11:45 am Tuesday in the area of Mitchell and Rose.
Officials say Carrasco Jr. was patrolling in the area when he was alarmed by a resident about a suspicious person in a yard.
As Carrasco Jr. got out of his patrol vehicle, investigators say Dixon shot him multiple times.
He later passed away shortly afterward at the Community Regional Medical Center.
Shortly after Carrasco Jr.’s death made its way through the community, candles, flowers, and mourners gathered at the corner of High Mill and McCall Avenue.
“This is the time for a lost brother that we lost yesterday. I’ve been a member of this community since 1997, for 25. I served as a police officer here from 2007 to 2014,” said Parlier Police Sgt. Dan Barcellos, a long-time Selma resident.
