Past booking photo of Krikor Ekizian
FRESNO – A man who broke into a home and repeatedly stabbed his uncle was fatally shot by an officer who was trying to give aid to the victim, police said. The 58-year-old victim, uncle to suspect Krikor Koko Ekizian, 28, is in critical-but-stable condition following the attack.
The incident happened around 3 a.m. on Sunday, October 18, near First Street and Gettysburg Avenue in central Fresno. Police responded to a 911 call that a prowler had entered a woman’s home in the neighborhood, possibly through a window.
The woman told the officers who arrived on the scene that she went into her kitchen and saw a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. He quickly fled the scene, but left a kitchen knife on the woman’s countertop, police said.
Police then received a second 911 call reporting that a man who lived two doors down had been injured. The man had been stabbed multiple times, before fleeing to a neighbor’s home for help, according to authorities.
The suspect had stabbed the victim “at least three times in the chest, twice in the back and once in the chin,” Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.
An officer attempted to help the victim when the suspect appeared and hit the officer in the face, Dyer said. The body-worn camera attached to the officer showed the suspect attacking him, and witnesses reported the same thing, Dyer said.
The officer, fearing for his safety, shot the suspect multiple times and killed him, Dyer said.
The initial attack on the victim appeared to take place in the victim’s home with a knife the suspect obtained from the kitchen cabinet in the home, authorities said.
The suspect had a history of violence and had served time in prison, where he had assaulted a correctional officer and a police officer, police said. His most recent arrest was on September 18, when Fresno police picked him up for loitering at Manchester Park after hours.
Officers believe the suspect entered the first home by mistake, thinking it was his uncle’s home.
The officer involved in the shooting was not seriously injured during the attack and was placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
