A 27-year-old Ceres man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 20 after he allegedly fired a handgun while on the balcony of an apartment unit.

Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Greg Yotsuya said Alexander Fox was arrested in the parking area of the complex at 2717 Roeding Road. He was found to be intoxicated and had three spent 9mm shell casings in the pocket of his shirt. 

Yotsuya said police were dispatched at 3:17 p.m. after witnesses said Fox was on a balcony and fired a 9mm handgun into the parking lot. At the time, a six-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl were walking to their apartment with their father when the shots were fired. Bullet holes were found in the parking lot awning where the three were walking.

Police learned that prior to the shots fired, Fox had been involved in a minor fender bender crash in the parking lot. During that incident, witnesses saw Fox produce a shotgun from his vehicle and put the shotgun back into the trunk before exchanging information with the other driver.

Sgt. Yotsuya said Fox then went up to his apartment, and while drinking, walked out onto the balcony and into his neighbor’s apartment. He walked out to the balcony again, produced a handgun from his waistband and fired three rounds from a 9mm handgun into the parking structure, nearly striking the children. Witnesses heard him say something similar to “good Fourth of July.” 

Fox’s gun was located in the neighbor’s apartment. The shotgun was recovered from the trunk of his car. Fox was placed under arrest and faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon.