Extra

Three hours after a young man fired shots from a moving car in West Berkeley, police were still searching for the suspect in South Berkeley after chasing him to a neighborhood near the intersection of Ashby and Shattuck avenues. 

Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Mary Kusmiss said that at 3:15 p.m., a Berkeley police patrol officer saw a man fire a gun from a new model Infiniti at Eighth Street and Bancroft Way. Kusmiss was not able to say immediately how many shots were fired. 

The officer, she said, immediately pursued the shooter and chased him through parts of West Berkeley, Central Berkeley and South Berkeley, at which point the suspect slowed down because of traffic and crashed into a parked car on Shattuck just north of Ashby. 

She said the officer “saw and heard gunfire and an arm out of the window” before he alerted the Berkeley Police Department and started chasing the suspect. 

“It’s rare for an officer to witness someone shooting, at least in Berkeley,” she said.  

At least 10 police vehicles with sirens roaring could be seen chasing the suspect’s car down Shattuck Avenue, some of them coming to a halt in front of Roxie Deli at the corner of Shattuck and Ashby avenues.  

Customers at the deli said they saw the suspect get out of his car and fire shots at police before running way. 

Kusmiss said Berkeley police were searching the area with the help of a canine unit from Oakland and the Berkeley Police Department's SWAT team, which happened to be training nearby. The two blocks of Shattuck between Ashby Avenue and Russell Street were closed to traffic, as was part of Ashby east of Shattuck. 

“I believe we are blocking off a larger area than we need,” Kusmiss said. “We are just going through a systemic search. The response was very quick because of the serious nature of the call. We were able to seal the block very quickly.” 

Kusmiss said the suspect could still be armed. Residents are advised to stay inside their homes and notify police if they see anyone resembling the suspect, described as a young black man in his 20s, light complexioned, about 6 feet tall, wearing black pants and a white T-shirt with some gold on it.  

The police action caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, with people coming out of their apartments to watch the action, some taking pictures with their cell phones. Pedestrians in the area were asked by police to keep away from the area. 

Kusmiss said around 4 p.m. that officers had found a car in West Berkeley with some bullet holes in it but had not located any victims. Calls to hospitals by Berkeley police had not led to any information either. 

Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Mark Coplan said that Rosa Parks Elementary School—which is located in West Berkeley—and LeConte Elementary, which is in South Berkeley—were locked down at 3:15 because of the shooting. Rosa Parks was opened after a time, while LeConte was still closed as of 5 p.m.