Update, 10:20 p.m. Norris is from El Sobrante and no weapons were recovered, police said.
Update, 4:33 p.m. Police arrested Meleko Norris, 18, at 2:33 a.m. on suspicion of willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 9 a.m. at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse and remains in custody with a bail of $240,000.
Original story, 4:28 a.m. A man in a crowd was arrested after police said he fired several rounds on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley early Sunday morning.
Berkeley Police watch commander Lt. Alyson Hart said he fired the gun on Telegraph between Channing and Durant. There were no injuries, she said. No further information was provided.
According to scanner traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside, the incident took place around 1:45 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Police were already in the area because of large crowds blocking the roadway between Channing and Durant at around 1 a.m.
The crowd was at times described by police as “hostile,” with some people throwing bottles at cars that tried to pass by, police said. Firefighters called to the area were told to wait outside a perimeter for a police escort because there was “a big riot around Pappy’s” Grill, at 2367 Telegraph, according to the scanner recording.
There was also a “sideshow,” police said, with smoke rising from at least one vehicle doing “doughnuts” and an involved green Lexus speeding westbound at 90 mph on Bancroft Way to Shattuck Avenue.
At one point, someone in the crowd flagged down police and let them know there was a man in the crowd who had a gun in his waistband. He was described as a man in his 20s with a “weird haircut” and a “tuft of hair on his neck.” He was wearing jeans over red shorts, and had on a white T-shirt.
Police spotted the man and an officer was keeping an eye on him in the crowd prior to the gunfire.
Police also reported a vehicle crash where someone “jumped in front of a car” and was hit, but was then walking around and appeared to be fine.
A crowd of about 50 people was dancing on cars while loud music played. Police reported glass breaking and a lot of yelling.
The crowd got smaller but was “getting more hostile,” police said, prior to the gunfire.
Berkeleyside will update this post if additional information becomes available.
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