Authorities identified Gonzalo Carrasco Jr. on Wednesday as the officer killed on the job in a Selma neighborhood, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

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Carrasco was from Reedley, the son of farmworkers and a father-to-be, according to the sheriff’s office.

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The two-year veteran of Selma Police Department was flagged down by a resident who asked the officer to speak to man in the front yard of a home on Pine Street about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday west of Highway 99 in Fresno County, according to police.

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The man fired several rounds at the officer, who later died at Community Regional Medical Center, police said. Carrasco did not fire his service weapon.

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The sheriff’s office said police arrested a suspect, Nathaniel Dixon, 23, not far away at Fig and Sequoia streets near Eric White Elementary.

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Law enforcement was familiar with the suspect, who has a criminal background including charges for firearms possession and robbery.

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Dixon served time in prison and was on probation as part of California’s AB 109 law, often called prison realignment.

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The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said the suspect was sentenced in March 2022 to serve 5 years, 4 months in prison, but was released by September 2022 and placed on Post Release Community Supervision.

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The killing was the first ever in the history of Selma Police Department, which was formed in 1893, according to the sheriff’s office.

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The Fresno County Deputy Sheriff’s Association set up a memorial fund for the officer’s family on behalf of the Selma Police Officer’s Association, according to deputies.

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Contributions can be sent to Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association, C/O Selma POA Memorial Fund, 1360 Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93721.

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