Woman shot, killed while walking dogs in San Leandro

Dogwalker fatally shot in San Leandro

A woman walking dogs in San Leandro was shot and killed, and police are searching for the suspect.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - A woman was shot and killed while walking her dogs in San Leandro, and police have arrested a suspect.

San Leandro Police Department officers were called just after 11:10 p.m. on Thursday to the area of East 14th Street and Williams Street on reports of the shooting and found the woman injured at the scene.

"We did find an adult female victim suffering what appeared to be a single gunshot wound," said SLPD Lt. Abe Teng, adding that woman was taken to a hospital for treatment. "Unfortunately, she did succumb to her injuries later."

A preliminary investigation into the shooting revealed the woman was with her boyfriend walking her dogs in the area when a suspect vehicle pulled over near them, according to the SLPD.

"The suspect exited the vehicle and accosted the couple. After a brief interaction, the suspect drew a firearm and shot the victim once in the torso," the SLPD said, adding that the shooter then got back into their car and fled the scene. 

The woman's boyfriend and the two dogs were not injured in the shooting.

Police did not release the woman’s name, and did not specify if she lived in the area where she was shot.

Police closed the area from Thornton to Castro streets, and two dogs could be seen tied to a pole as authorities investigated the scene. KTVU later learned the two animals were taken to a shelter.

San Leandro police later learned that a person had been arrested in Dublin for possessing a firearm. The circumstances of the arrest, along with descriptions of the suspect and their vehicle, "closely matched those from the San Leandro homicide," police said.

SLPD detectives were able to uncover more evidence and ultimately placed 21-year-old Rohith Sunil of San Jose under arrest on suspicion of murder in connection to the shooting at East 14th Street and Williams Street.

Parallels to June killing:

San Leandro police acknowledged similarities between the woman's murder and the fatal shooting of 47-year-old Ryan M. Christie, who was killed while walking his dog near Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street – a little over a mile away from where the woman was shot – last month. However, police said there was no connection between the shootings.

"We recognize the parallels between this case and last month’s murder of another victim walking his dog, and we acknowledge the public safety concerns this may raise within the community," the SLPD said in a statement. "Our investigation, thus far, has found no connection between the 2 homicides or between the suspects arrested in each case. We have also found no basis to believe they are part of a mounting pattern."

The killing is San Leandro's third homicide of the year.