Police ID Fresno man killed at motorcycle club gathering. Site has violent history
Police said the three men shot over the weekend in Fresno were attending a gathering at a motorcycle club clubhouse before gunfire broke out, police said Monday morning in an update.
One of the men was killed and the other two were rushed into surgery after multiple people fired guns around 2:45 a.m. on McKinley Avenue near Hughes Avenue and Highway 99, police said.
The men were part of the gathering at the Soul Brothers Motorcycle Club clubhouse, police said.
The deceased victim was identified by police as Darnell Johnson, 31, of Fresno.
The two others, one 41 and the other 43, remained in critical condition at Community Regional Medical Center on Monday, police said.
The violence followed an argument, police said.
“This case involves a large amount of witnesses, most of whom live out of the city,” police said in a news release. “Witnesses continue to be interviewed to determine what exactly took place.”
The club denied having been involved in the violence, according to the club’s Facebook page.
“On behalf of the Soul Brothers Fresno chapter let it be known that the Soul Brothers M.C. was not involved in the events that transpired in the early morning on 10/1/2022,” the post said on Facebook. “We did not instigate, nor encourage, and do not condone the actions that took place tonight. We send our deepest condolences to the victims and their families.”
Soul Brothers Motorcycle Club history in Fresno
The motorcycle club has had previous run-ins with local law enforcement.
Police in 2017 promised to crack down on routine gatherings of motorcycle clubs after three people were shot and 100 rounds fired.
Clubs are known to gather in Fresno twice a year on trips by clubs from the Bay Area and Southern California. The Soul Brothers have been part of that gathering for many years.
But the events also draw gang members and arguments can lead to violence.
Officers were at the same location in 2014 when officers were involved in a shooting after violence broke out. The year before, one person was killed and 12 were wounded after a shooting started at the Soul Brothers club and continued into southeast Fresno.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 559-621-7000.
