A 42-year-old Berkeley man is in custody Thursday after allegedly stabbing a man at Civic Center Park on Wednesday evening, sending him to the hospital, authorities report.
The alleged assailant was chased from the park to nearby Allston Way by a group of bystanders, then handcuffed by a Downtown Berkeley Association “ambassador” on patrol.
Officer Byron White, Berkeley police spokesman, said the incident began as some type of dispute in Civic Center Park, at 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, at about 6:25 p.m. The argument, which took place near the fountain, culminated with one man stabbing the other in the shoulder with a knife.
White said “multiple bystanders” pursued the assailant — later identified as Adam Allen — to Allston Way. The ambassador handcuffed Allen and arriving Berkeley police officers then arrested him, White said.
The man who was stabbed, who is in his 30s, was taken to the hospital for treatment but is expected to survive.
Allen was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, which is listed as a felony, as well as disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor.
Police said Allen exhibited signs of intoxication at the scene.
One reader described the aftermath of the incident to Berkeleyside in an email asking for additional information. He said he saw “a bunch of kids sprinting up from the park and ending up congregating in the middle of the street. Shouting ensued, including a lot of ‘help!’ and a ton of cops and a medic and fire truck and CS unit came speeding up incredibly soon after, sirens blaring. I distinctly heard the word ‘stabbing’ and there was a man … on the ground among a crowd who was relatively quickly wheeled out on a stretcher.”
Allen is being held with a bail of $30,000 at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. He is scheduled for arraignment at the East County Hall of Justice on Friday morning, according to booking records online.
