OAKLAND — A man and woman were shot to death Friday in the hills near the Berkeley border, police said.
Authorities did not identify the two immediately, and police said they had not arrested anyone. The gunfire happened about 10:45 a.m in the 400 block of Panoramic Way, in the hills near UC Berkeley.
Oakland police Asst. Chief Casey Johnson in a livestreamed Friday afternoon press conference said police do not believe there was any ongoing threat to the public. He declined to disclose what police believe happened.
“We are not ruling anything out,” Johnson said when asked if police believe they are dealing with a murder-suicide. “The call came from a neighbor who heard gunshots. There was a (gun) located at the scene. Everything is a possibility until we can fully investigate.”
Berkeley police officers arrived first and found the two people outside the home. They worked to save both, but they died at the scene.
Jerry Wachtel, a resident who said his residence is three houses down from where the man and woman were found, said he did not hear shots but that the sound of emergency vehicles rushing to the scene alerted him to the situation.
“We have at this moment, 10 emergency vehicles blocking the road, blocking my driveway,” Wachtel said. “We never see that.”
The woman was 63 years old and the man was 61, Johnson said. He added that they appear to be a married couple and residents of the home.
“Those of us who live on Panoramic Hill think of it as a special place,” Wachtel said. “It’s close to downtown and close to the campus, yet closed and isolated. In my case, this has shattered that sense of isolation and protection.”
No other information was available immediately.