Berkeley police arrest suspect for allegedly waving weapon outside preschool

Wayne Freedman Image
ByWayne Freedman KGO logo
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Berkeley police arrest suspect for waving weapon outside pre-school
Police responded to a report of an armed man on Martin Luther King Junior Way, on the North Oakland/South Berkeley border.

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- It was a tense afternoon in Berkeley along the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. It began with reports of an armed man across the street from the East Bay Therapeutic Nursery School.

Building manager John Blatt called police after a workman alerted him to the danger.

"There's 15 people working in there-- and 15 kids. Maybe 40 people in there, today."

Outside, the Berkeley Police Department responded in force. They closed Martin Luther King Blvd, took cover where they could, and then, with K-9 units, officers entered the building.

Police took two men into custody, arrested one of them on the spot, and say they did find a rifle inside.

Berkeley Police have not provided information yet about a motive.

We had no reports of injuries,

The kids in that pre-school are fine.