1 dead, 3 wounded in shooting near UC Berkeley campus
BERKELEY (KPIX) -- One person died and three others were injured in a shooting Saturday morning in Berkeley's south campus area near Telegraph and Durant avenues, police said.
Berkeley police said it happened around 1 a.m. at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Durant Avenue.
Police say none of the victims was a student but many students witnessed and heard the shooting.
The shooting happened a block away from Unit 3, a complex made up of several buildings with dozens of dormitory housing, mostly first-year students.
"I don't know what the altercation was about but there was definitely a fight between a group of people. Definitely not students, older people," said Cal freshman Jai Bhatia.
Bhatia, freshman Ashwin Kotibagkar and freshman Christopher Kim had just picked up some snacks and they were walking back to their dorm at Unit 3 when they came across a fight.
They said a man who was involved in the fight pulled out a gun and started shooting.
"It's kind of crazy to have things like this happen so close to where we're living," Kotibagkar said.
They said the intersection of Telegraph and Durant was packed with students and people picking up food from nearby restaurants.
"I was kind of, like, paralyzed. I didn't know what was going on until everyone started running and I just followed them," Kim said.
The three friends and other students ran into a karaoke bar to hide.
"Traumatizing, you know? It's not an event you want to have on an everyday basis or even go through in your life," Kotibagkar said.
Many students in the nearby Unit 3 dorms who were still awake heard the shots.
"Everyone was really shook at that time and a bunch people came into our dorm. We were just sitting down, talking. A lot of people were calling their parents, just saying 'we're OK. Don't worry, we're staying inside,''" said freshman Jonas Abrams, who lives in Unit 3.
"There's a lot of anxiety going on," said freshman Mohamed Ganda.
"I think we're all just really shaken by everything that's happening these past couple of weeks," said Kaelyn Santelices.
Aside from the shooting, police say, less than two weeks ago, a man took off his pants and pleasured himself in front of female students at Unit 3.
"With the whole masturbation event that happened literally two weeks ago, how is it even safe? Parents are paying so much money for their kids to come here," Kotibagkar asked.
"They talk it as being the number one public university in the world and they can't keep their own students safe," Bhatia said.
While the shooting happened on city streets, students say UC Berkeley should add security around campus housing. Many students told KPIX they don't feel safe.
"I really am afraid to walk at night and I can't go anywhere by myself right now," Santelices said.
"I sometimes walk back home by myself and stuff like that but now, it's definitely trying to go in a group," said freshman Coby Bass.
It's unclear what caused the fight that led to the shooting. Berkeley police said that, as of Saturday morning, they were still looking for the gunman.