Two men, including a father of eight, were fatally shot in South Berkeley just after midnight Thursday following what neighbors described as "two bursts of a lot of shots."

Victims were found within a block of each other between 1400 and 1500 Derby Street, near Sacramento Street, after several residents called to report the shooting at about 12:15 a.m., said Berkeley police Officer Andrew Frankel.

Both victims have been identified by police, but their names will not be released until their identities have been confirmed by the Alameda County Coroner. There are no suspects at this time, Frankel said.

The homicides are the ninth and 10th of the year in the city, which has not seen a homicide rate in the double digits since 1997 when Berkeley had a total of 11 homicides, according to the California Department of Justice.

A 45-year-old Oakland resident suffering from apparent gunshot wounds was found lying against the curb in the middle of the 1400 block of Derby. The man was declared dead at the scene by Berkeley Fire Department paramedics.

Officers found the second victim, a 26-year-old Berkeley resident, when they responded to additional emergency calls concerning a nearby traffic crash that proved to be related to the shooting.

The second victim succumbed to gunshot wounds after crashing the car he was driving into a parked vehicle on the 1500 block of Derby, Frankel said. He too was declared dead at the scene.

The mother of one of the 45-year-old victim's eight children, who asked not to be identified, said he stopped working after becoming disabled from gunshot wounds he had sustained in the past.

Police cordoned off the residence located on the 1400 block of Derby in order to inspect the house, which has what appears to be a bullet hole in one of its front windows.

A few hours after the shooting, family members of both victims gathered outside the home, talking quietly and staring at bullet fragments and spattered blood on the sidewalk.

The godbrother of the second victim, who identified himself only as "Niner," said the victim was a "good guy" who had a twin brother.

Police said they believe the shooter, or shooters, ran through nearby backyards and escaped onto Ward Street. Officers on Thursday morning were investigating a chair with a broken leg and a bicycle at an apartment complex on Ward, among other pieces of evidence.

According to Frankel, double homicides in Berkeley are "infrequent."

The incident is the first double homicide since Jan. 22, 2002, when two men were found in a car in South Berkeley with gunshot wounds to their heads. In June 2007, there was a triple homicide-suicide in a parking lot at Tilden Regional Park, where a man shot his wife and two daughters in the head before killing himself.

A $30,000 reward is being offered by the the city of Berkeley to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects.

Police are asking anyone with information about the recent homicides to call the Berkeley Police Department's homicide detail at 510-981-5741 or 510-981-5900.

Brian Whitley of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

Tags: HOMICIDE, SOUTH BERKELEY, SHOOTING