Napa Auto Parts in Selma has a sign in memory of Selma PD Officer Gonzalo Carrasco. Photo via Facebook

It’s amazing to see how the power of tragedy can bring a community together.

Residents of Selma, where I have lived for the last 11 years, are doing what they can to honor and celebrate the life of Gonzalo Carrasco, the 24-year-old police officer murdered in the line of duty on Tuesday.

It’s hard to comprehend such a senseless act — taking the life of a public servant with a family and a baby on the way. No Selma police officer has ever been killed in the line of duty before.

 

Faced with such a deep tragedy, Selma residents are taking steps large and small to remember Officer Carrasco.

One business, the Napa Auto Parts store, mounted a sign reading “In Loving Memory of a Hero: Gonzalo Carrasco.” And the leadership class at Abraham Lincoln Middle School took to the streets to honor Carrasco with blue ribbons. Prayer vigils are planned and memorials set up.

The tragedy has even become fodder for political debate, but the Selma community and Carrasco’s family will rise above.

The Fresno County Deputy Sheriff’s Association is supporting the Selma Police Officer’s Association by establishing a memorial fund in which all donations will be given to Officer Carrasco’s family.

Please send contributions to:

Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association
C/O Selma POA Memorial Fund
1360 Van Ness Avenue
Fresno, CA 93721