Man knocks out UC Berkeley student in unprovoked attack
According to police, the assailant punched the student from behind, sending him flying onto the sidewalk and knocking him unconscious.
An 18-year-old UC Berkeley student was knocked out by a stranger in an unprovoked attack downtown Wednesday morning.
Police say they have arrested the man responsible and identified him as 32-year-old Rodrick Long (no address).
The student was walking in the 2000 block of Center Street (near Milvia Street) just before 8 a.m. when the attack happened, BPD said in response to a Berkeley Scanner inquiry.
According to Berkeley police, Long first walked past the student and then circled back toward him. He broke into a jog and then punched the student from behind, sending him flying onto the sidewalk and knocking him unconscious.
Then he walked away as passers-by began trying to figure out what had happened.
The student was taken to Highland Hospital, the regional trauma center, for treatment for a possible concussion, police said.
Police reviewed surveillance footage of the attack and recognized Long from prior contacts, the Berkeley Police Department said.
Rodrick Long. BPD
Officers found him one block away and arrested him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury — both felonies — as well as a probation violation.
Long has felony convictions dating back to 2008 for robbery and grand theft, according to court records online.
One of those cases, from 2019, landed him on felony probation through August 2025.
No bail amount was listed as of publication time.
Long is scheduled for arraignment Friday at 9 a.m.
