Berkeley police (file photo). Photo: Emilie Raguso

Shots were fired in the vicinity of San Pablo Park in southwest Berkeley Thursday evening and a gun was used in an armed robbery Southside later on the same night.

Berkeley Police received numerous calls at about 7:25 p.m. about possible gunfire in the area of San Pablo Park, according to BPD’s Lt. Peter Hong. Officers found multiple spent casings near the intersection of Russell and Acton streets. No victim came forward or checked into local hospitals, Hong said, and police found no damage to surrounding homes and vehicles [Correction: Berkeleyside previously erroneously reported that there was damage.] During BPD’s investigation officers learned that there had been a group of people who were “hanging around Russell and Acton just prior to the gunfire,” Hong said.

In a local neighborhood forum, local residents, one of whom reached out to Berkeleyside early Friday morning asking for information, said they had heard several shots and seen a large group of people congregating at the intersection of Russell and Park streets, which is just south-east of the park.

Meanwhile, UC Berkeley Police reported via a Nixle alert that later Thursday night, at about 11:38 p.m., there was an armed robbery with a gun in the 2600 block of Dwight Way (near Bowditch Street). No details about the victim nor the suspect were provided. Berkeleyside has reached out to UCPD for more information and will update this story if it is provided.

Tracey Taylor is co-founder of Berkeleyside and co-founder and editorial director of Cityside, the nonprofit parent to Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Before launching Berkeleyside, Tracey wrote for...