Armed robbers struck in Berkeley four times Thursday night and in the hours that followed, on both the UC Berkeley campus and in the neighborhoods nearby, authorities report.
It is unusual for Berkeley to have so many robbery reports in one night. The city has consistently averaged one robbery a day in recent years; most of them do not involve guns. Robbery reports have been down, however, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
At 9 p.m., a person with a gun committed a robbery south of campus at Channing Way and College Avenue, according to an alert from UC Berkeley’s WarnMe system. The robber fled westbound on Channing Way on foot, UCPD said.
There was also a robbery at gunpoint at Virginia Street and Le Roy Avenue, north of campus, just after 9:30 p.m., the Berkeley Police Department told Berkeleyside shortly after publication. The robber left on foot southbound on Le Roy.
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Several hours later, at 12:25 a.m. Friday, two people with a gun committed a robbery on the eastern side of the UC Berkeley campus in the area of the Eucalyptus Grove and the Grinnell Pathway. The robbery took place at the wooden bridge by Weill Hall. The robbers fled eastbound on foot, UCPD said.
Just five minutes later, two people with a gun committed a robbery on the Grinnell Pathway. They fled eastbound on foot afterward.
A few minutes before the first incident of the night, UCPD said, just after 8:45 p.m., two people had also tried to commit a strong-arm robbery on campus near the Valley Life Sciences Building, which is next to the Eucalyptus Grove and Weill Hall and not far from the Grinnell Pathway. The pair was unsuccessful and fled west on Frank Schlesinger Way.
UCPD did not release any further details about these incidents. UCPD does not release suspect descriptions as a matter of policy. Berkeleyside published all the details that have been made public.
“UCPD is currently investigating and exploring all possibilities including if the robberies are linked,” the agency said in response to a Berkeleyside inquiry.
Police ask anyone with information about these crimes or similar incidents to call UCPD at 510-642-6760 or the Berkeley Police Department at Berkeley Police at 510-981-5900. Sign up for crime alerts from UC Berkeley.
Berkeleyside updated this story shortly after publication to include an additional robbery report from BPD. Featured photo: Emilie Raguso
