MADERA - The Madera County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a call Tuesday evening regarding a suspicious person acting erratically at a property in the 27000 block of Avenue 16 in Madera. Deputies arrived on the scene and encountered an adult male armed with a rifle. He quickly retreated into the primary residence on the property and refused instructions to come out of the residence.
Shortly after 10 pm, deputies observed the man ignite a fire inside the residence. CALFIRE responded to the area, along with Madera PD and EMS. The fire ultimately destroyed the primary residence on the property. Once it was extinguished, a deceased person was found inside the structure. Identification of the deceased individual will be withheld pending formal identification and notification of next of kin.
Multiple residences on the property were damaged or destroyed by the fire, and several individuals have been displaced. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the American Red Cross to accommodate them.
Currently, the Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division is actively processing the scene and investigating the incident. There are no other known fatalities or major injuries related to the incident that detectives have been made aware of. The suspect has been reported as a resident on the property but not of the house he barricaded himself in. Detectives’ preliminary investigation revealed the suspect had a realistic replica firearm. According to witness statements, it was used in an attempt to rob the occupants of the residence during the initially reported disturbance and later pointed at deputies before the fire was started.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Detectives at (559) 675-7770.