Berkeley saw its first homicide of the year Thursday evening, when a man was shot and killed on the 3000 block of Shattuck Avenue, police say.

The man — who has now been identified by police as 32-year-old Hercules-resident Kenneth Warren — was found with several gunshot wounds at the southeast corner of the intersection of Shattuck and Emerson Street, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department. Police were alerted to the situation at around 6:50 p.m., when passersby called in after hearing numerous gunshots fired, Kusmiss said.

The victim, who was on foot when he was shot, was later pronounced dead at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

There have been no arrests yet in connection with the shooting, and Kusmiss said it is still unclear as to how many shooters there were and whether or not they fled in a car or on foot. She could provide no description of the suspects at this time. Berkeley police Lt. Dave Frankel said it seems that the shooting was targeted at Warren and was not random.

“(The shooters) were long gone when the officers arrived,” she said.

Warren worked at a barber shop called Don’s Headquarters at 3019 Shattuck Ave., according to Frankel.

Shattuck was closed temporarily, but had reopened as of 10:30 p.m., Kusmiss added.

Kusmiss said the investigation into this year’s first homicide is ongoing and encouraged anyone who may have been nearby around the time of the shooting and who saw anything suspicious to contact the police department.

There was one homicide in Berkeley in 2011.

Staff writer Theresa Adams contributed to this report.
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