UC Berkeley gunfire suspect now arrested after psych hold
Virgil Hampton was medically cleared and taken into custody Thursday afternoon.
The 59-year-old Oakland man who opened fire on the UC Berkeley campus earlier this month was arrested Thursday after a nearly two-week psychiatric hold, authorities say.
Virgil Hampton was medically cleared and taken into custody Thursday afternoon by officers from the University of California Police Department.
On Feb. 9, the gunman confronted students during dance practice on Lower Sproul Plaza and then fired about nine shots into the air at 8:40 p.m. just outside the tent where the students had been practicing.
A large window was shattered by a bullet but no one was hurt. Police arrested Hampton within two minutes of the shooting.
UC Berkeley police said Hampton has now been booked into Santa Rita Jail on nine counts of negligent discharge of a firearm as well as possession of a loaded firearm on campus and possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle.
This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
Update, Feb. 23: Hampton is set for arraignment Friday morning at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. He is being held on $565,000 bail, according to booking records online.
Emilie Raguso
