Mid-afternoon gunfire in Berkeley amid dispute Sunday

A man "pulled out a gun and shot at the victim repeatedly" when a bystander tried to intervene in an argument, police said. No one was hurt.

Mid-afternoon gunfire in Berkeley amid dispute Sunday
A Berkeley police officer on Blake Street during a shooting investigation Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Emilie Raguso/The Berkeley Scanner

Berkeley police are investigating gunfire on Blake Street on Sunday afternoon involving a bystander who tried to intervene in an argument between a man and woman, authorities report.

No one was hurt in the shooting and the investigation is ongoing.

The incident began around 2:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Blake Street, just east of Sacramento Street.

Berkeley police said the bystander saw two people — a man and woman — arguing in the street.

The bystander tried to intervene, police said, but the man "pulled out a gun and shot at the victim repeatedly."

The man and woman who had been arguing then got into a light-colored sedan and left eastbound on Blake, police said.

The gunfire broke out while a large street fair, complete with at least two bouncy houses, was going on a few blocks west of the shooting.

Police said they found no property damage at the scene.

No arrests have been made.

As of Aug. 21, five people had been wounded in 21 shootings in Berkeley this year. None had been fatal.

There had been 35 shootings at this time last year. Two people had been killed and 10 wounded.

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