South Berkeley residents near King and Prince streets reported a heavy law enforcement presence Friday night, along with the sound of helicopters in the area of the Ashby BART station around 7:45 p.m.
Residents in the area reported a helicopter and “lots of police” in South Berkeley.
One resident said the activity was centered around the 3100 block of King Street, where a car had been abandoned near Malcolm X Elementary School.
Residents who reached the Berkeley Police Department were told that the CHP was involved in a pursuit in the area.
Another resident reported on Twitter that a suspect had been apprehended and taken away. The abandoned car was searched, then towed. CHP reported “no remaining threat” as of 8:16 p.m.
California Highway Patrol officer Sean Wilkenfeld, the Oakland-area CHP spokesman, said the chase began around 7 p.m. on Golf Links Road, at Castlewood Street, when a vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign.
The chase continued on westbound I-580 to Highway 24. Wilkenfeld said a CHP helicopter tracked the vehicle into South Berkeley, allowing officers on the ground to abandon their pursuit in the interest of public safety.
Police responded to King and Prince streets, to the area where the car had been abandoned. Berkeley Police officers helped set up a perimeter, and authorities arrested one person associated with the vehicle in connection with a weapons violation.
A second person from the vehicle managed to get away, said Wilkenfeld.
He said the vehicle had not been reported stolen, but had no license plates when authorities found it. The investigation is continuing.
Update, Feb. 1: ABC7 cameraman Dean C. Smith, who was on the scene, told Berkeleyside that a female was arrested, and that officers recovered drugs and a gun during their investigation.
This story was updated shortly after publication with additional information from the California Highway Patrol.
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