Four students were threatened with, and then assaulted with, a gun in an attempted robbery on Sunday at the Signpost 21 turnout on Grizzly Peak Boulevard in the Berkeley Hills.
UC Berkeley police reported that the four young men had pulled into the turnout in their car to look at the view at around 11:24 p.m Sunday night.
“They noticed three vehicles already parked at the turnout,” UCPD wrote in a release about the crime. “There were numerous people in each of the vehicles. One of the males in the group walked up to the victim’s car and pulled out a gun. The suspect struck two of the victims with the gun and demanded their property.”
The students managed to drive away without giving the suspect their property. They then flagged down an East Bay Regional Park District police officer and reported the crime.
UCPD and EBRPD officers searched the area but were unable to locate the suspects or the vehicles. The victims sustained minor physical injuries.
The suspects, of whom there were approximately ten according to the victims, were described as being a mix of black and Hispanic males and Hispanic females. The suspects’ vehicles were described as being a white early 1990s Ford Thunderbird, a black, or dark blue, early 2000s BMW 3 series, and an unknown newer sedan that was either black or dark blue.
Robberies and assaults are not uncommon on Grizzly Peak, which has several turnouts designed for people to stop and take in the views. A group of people attacked a Cal student at Signpost 16 in 2013; and in November last year three men armed with handguns and a baseball bat kidnapped and robbed a man and a woman at a dirt turn-out along the same road.
Related:
More details emerge on UCPD carjacking, robbery arrests (12.22.14)
3 teens arrested after Grizzly Peak kidnapping (12.17.14)
Suspects in Grizzly Peak robbery, kidnapping identified (12.01.14)
Armed robbery, kidnapping on Grizzly Peak Blvd (11.27.14)
Student assaulted by group on Grizzly Peak (06.04.13)
Get the latest Berkeley news in your inbox with Berkeleyside’s free Daily Briefing. And make sure to bookmark Berkeleyside’s pages on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t need an account on those sites to view important information.