Third shooting this month on East Bay's I-80 unnerves motorists

BERKELEY, Calif. (KTVU) - For the third time this month, there's been a shooting on Interstate 80 in the East Bay, and while no one was seriously hurt, an 8-year-old child riding in a car was placed in danger, police said.

The incidents have unnerved motorists, and police are searching for any links among the cases.
The latest shooting happened as a family was driving east on I-80 near University Avenue in Berkeley about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Someone fired a shot, which shattered a window of their car, said Officer Byron White, a Berkeley police spokesman.

"This is some kind of a shooting on the freeway," a Berkeley Fire Department battalion chief reported on the radio. "At this point, there is no suspect vehicle or any kind of description."

Berkeley police say they don't have any motive in the case. They don't know if the shooter fired from a car going in the same or opposite direction, or from a fixed point off the freeway. Authorities also don't know if the car was the intended target or if the vehicle was hit by a stray bullet meant for somebody else.

Whatever led up to the incident, the victims had no idea what had happened at first, police said.

"A family of three was on their way home, and a gunshot hit one of their windows," White said.

"The family pulled to the side of the road. They actually thought they had gotten into some type of collision. There was a loud boom, glass broke and they pulled over," White said.

But police and the California Highway Patrol confirmed that they had actually been shot at. Authorities recovered a bullet.

One of the women in her 30s was hurt from broken glass and was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland. The other woman who is in her 60s and the eight-year-old weren't hurt.

Police say it's too early to say whether the shooting is tied to two other incidents along I-80 earlier this month. One shooting left a man dead and a woman hurt in Pinole. The other injured a man in San Pablo.

The CHP has said that the two earlier shootings are linked to each other and that the victims apparently knew their attackers.

"It's definitely a scary situation when you have a family where a bullet strikes one of the windows," White said. "At this point it's still under investigation. We are working with the California Highway Patrol and it's too soon to tell."

We spoke to motorists gassing up on Ashby near the freeway.

"It is scary, to know that, people shooting out of nowhere, especially when you're driving on the freeway," said Edgar Villarreal.

"When you're trying to get somewhere or you have a destination you have to be afraid that you can get hurt and children are involved," said Monique Higgins. "It's sad. It's sad. I hope this is not what our world is coming too."

"I mean it's just sad," said Danielle Royal. "Anyone, an eight-year-old or an 80-year-old you know, it doesn't make a difference. You know it's a life. Any age you know it's just tragic."

No arrests have been made in any of the cases. Anyone with information, no matter how small it may seem to be, is asked to call police.