Wild 'Running Gun Battle' at Fresno Biker Dance Leaves 1 Dead, 12 Wounded, Hundreds Scampering for Cover

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — One man is dead and at least 12 wounded after what authorities describe as a wild "running gun battle" inside and outside a Fresno motorcycle club's annual dance.

Shots were still being fired at 2 a.m. Saturday when the first of more than 100 law enforcement officers arrived at the Soul Brothers clubhouse near Fresno, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office said.

The gunfire erupted during the Soul Brothers' annual dance, which draws bikers and other motorcycle clubs from all over the state. About 500 people were inside the warehouse-like clubhouse when the shooting started.

The shooting quickly tuned into "a running gun battle" in the street outside the club, and hundreds of partygoers were running for cover when the first officers arrived, sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice said.

Despite briefly detaining and questioning about 100 people, authorities have yet to make an arrest.

(Credit: KSFN-TV)

The Fresno County coroner identified the dead man Sunday as Dejuan Gladney, 18. The coroner didn't list a hometown.

Gladney and several injured people were found in the clubhouse, which is in an unincorporated neighborhood of Fresno County called Calwa. Another victim was on a nearby street.

Curtice said the injuries ranged from minor to "extremely serious." Authorities have not released the names of the wounded.

Large gatherings of bikers descend on Fresno twice a year — once in the spring and then again in fall, the Fresno Bee reports. The gatherings frequently turn violent, the newspaper adds, but police blame gangs for starting some of the violence rather than the bikers themselves.

The club's website was inoperable Sunday and no representative could be reached at the clubhouse.

Old newspaper reports say Soul Brothers was formed in 1967 in East Palo Alto as a multi-racial club before moving to Stockton then Fresno. The club also has a Las Vegas chapter, whose phone rang unanswered Sunday.

Donnie Turnmire, 51, who lives near the club, called the incident "unfortunate."

"I have kids and I know my kids get pretty nervous -- it's scary for them," Turnmire told the Bee, adding that he found a trail of blood on the street in front of his house the morning after the shooting. "No one wants a shooting around their house. It's pretty dangerous."

Here's a initial report from KSFN-TV via YouTube:

And a follow-up from KSFN interviewing bikers:

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