Fresno homicide detectives have arrested a 24-year-old woman in connection with the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old college graduate outside a house party over the weekend.
Officers with the Fresno Police Department were sent to the area of Fruit Avenue and Shields Avenue at around 9:23 p.m. Saturday, after reports of shots fired, the department said in a post on Facebook. Arriving officers found 26-year-old Marione Tsegay had been shot and was rushed by EMS to Community Regional Medical Center. Despite lifesaving efforts from medical staff, Tsegay was pronounced dead at the scene.
Homicide detectives determined that a group of people had gathered for a house party in the area and believe a dispute broke out between Tsegay and 24-year-old Nemadia Knuckles shortly before the shooting. Following the investigation, Knuckles was booked into the Fresno County Jail on a murder charge.
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Tsegay's death has rippled through Fresno's faith and education communities. Pastor David Joseph-Lee Criner described Tsegay as "a beautiful young woman whose life was taken Saturday evening far too soon," and said she was a close friend of his sister and two church members, he wrote in a heartfelt post on Facebook.He said Tsegay's death was one of three that had shaken his community in a single week and urged grieving friends and family to lean on their faith. "Marione, your life mattered. Your accomplishments mattered. Your dreams mattered. Your smile mattered. Your presence mattered. And your absence matters," Criner wrote.
Tsegay was also remembered as a former high school volunteer whose work left a lasting mark on her alma mater. Kristopher Madden, who works as a job developer for the Fresno Unified School District, said Tsegay began visiting the Career Center at Bullard High School and became a regular volunteer with the school's College & Career Readiness Department.
Madden said her contributions were significant enough that the department created "The Marione Tscholar Program" in her honor, which ran for several years and later helped shape elements of the district's current CTE Ambassador Program. Madden said he had asked Tsegay to write a letter to future program participants during her senior year, adding that he chose to share it in its original wording because "her voice is an important one.” A copy of the letter was included in his post.