Update: 6:55 p.m. Berkeley police have just issued a Nixle alert to say the search for a man reported to have carried a rifle into Eastshore Park has ended. For the last six and a half hours, Berkeley police, the East Bay Regional Park District police, and the California Highway Patrol have been looking for a man in a yellow shirt who reportedly took a rifle over the pedestrian overpass over I-80 and walked into the park. All roads leading into the park and next to the park have been reopened. The EBRPD police took control of the search in the afternoon and made the decision to end the manhunt, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, who was the acting watch commander on duty Tuesday night.
Update: 4 p.m. When police entered the Marina to look for a man reportedly carrying a rifle, the 140 children at Berkeley Day Camp, a city-run camp, were sent inside a building at the Shorebird Nature Center, where they were protected by police, according to Matthai Chakko, a city spokesman. They spent about 90 minutes on lockdown before buses arrived at 3 p.m. to take the campers out of the park. “Our concern is making sure everybody is as safe as possible,” said Chakko.
Update: 3:15 p.m. Berkeley police and the East Bay Regional Park police are still searching for an alleged gunman in the Marina. The children who were attending day camp in the park’s Nature Center have been put on three buses and have been taken out of the Marina, according to Sgt. Andrew Frankel. The campers will be dropped off at their normal stops, according to Matthai Chakko, a spokesman for the city.
KCBS is reporting that police are using a drone from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to search for the suspected gunman.
Original story: Berkeley police have shut down part of West Frontage Road and the road leading into the Berkeley Marina as they hunt for a man who is reportedly carrying a rifle.
Police received several reports around 12:19 p.m. that a man was spotted walking on the pedestrian overpass over I-80 with a rifle, said Sgt. Andrew Frankel, spokesman for the Berkeley Police Department. The man then went into the park where police are searching for him.
The man is described as white or Hispanic, around 40. He is wearing a yellow shirt, said Sgt. Frankel.
Police have closed West Frontage Road between Gilman and University Avenue and have also blocked any entry into the Marina.
Berkeleyside will update this story as more information becomes available.
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