A male student at Berkeley Technology Academy high school was robbed and assaulted today at approximately 11:15 a.m. at Milvia and Stuart streets in central Berkeley, according to authorities. A weapon was involved.
Berkeley Technology Academy, or BTECH as it is more commonly known, at 2701 Martin Luther King Jr Way, and the King Child Development Center at 1939 Ward Street were on lock down for approximately 30 minutes while police searched for the suspect.
According to an email message sent out to the Berkeley High School community by BHS Principal Pasquale Scuderi, BHS’s Dean of Students, Ardarius McDonald, received word of the strong-armed robbery — which happened about 1 mile from the BHS campus — from the Berkeley Police Department School Resource Officer today.
The student’s wallet was stolen and he was pistol whipped with a handgun. He was taken to Children’s Hospital with minor injuries, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
BPD said they received a first call for service at 11:34 a.m. “The victim was walking in the area when approached by the unknown suspect,” they said. “The suspect was armed with a small handgun. The suspect demanded the victim’s property. The victim refused to give his property to the suspect. The suspect struck the victim several times with the handgun. During the incident the victim lost his wallet, which appears to have been taken by the suspect. An extensive area check for the suspect was conducted, but no arrests have been made.”
Berkeley Police are following up with BTECH staff and BHS safety staff have been briefed with the particulars, Scuderi said.
Police were looking for a suspect who was described as a black man in his 20s, about 5’10”, medium build wearing a black beanie cap, gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. He was last seen fleeing east on Stuart Street from Milvia Street on foot.
In his email Principal Scuderi concluded: “We do not have reason to believe that this incident poses any ongoing threat to the BHS campus. However, we do feel that the incident warrants parent and staff notification as its proximity to campus and the highly visible police activity in the neighborhood this morning will likely generate some questions and speculation.”
This story was updated as new information became available.
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