At 9:35 p.m., Madera Police Department officers were dispatched to the Walgreens. KFSN via Madera Police Department
April 2 (UPI) — A 30-year-old man with “anger” toward pharmacies opened fire inside a Walgreens in central California, killing a store clerk, police said.
Narciso Gallardo Fernandez was booked into the Madera County Jail on charges filed of murder with a gun enhancement and attempted murder with a gun enhancement, prosecutors said Wednesday. Madera, a town with a population of 68,000, is about 23 miles north of Fresno.
He is accused of killing Erick Velazquez, 34, a Walgreens clerk with no known connection to Fernandez, on Monday night. Other employees took shelter during the attack.
At 9:35 p.m., Madera Police Department officers were dispatched to the Walgreens. A subject was located inside the store suffering from a gunshot wound. He was declared dead at the scene.
Surveillance footage released Tuesday showed the gunman shooting at a security camera inside the store.
Fernandez fired at least five shots, investigators said.
The suspect was located by officers. His neighbor told KFSN that Velasquez was the father of two young children.
“You could say only one life was lost, but we have numerous people touched trying to understand the why,” the police chief said. ” I have a victim’s family. He’s got a wife. He’s got two children — one’s an infant — and they’re trying to understand the why,” Chiaramonte said.
The store was closed Tuesday with grief counselors and support staff on hand Wednesday and Thursday.