Calif. dealership employee shot, killed; police kill suspect
This post was originally published on AutomotiveNews.com
An armed man shot and killed a female employee at a Calif. dealership last week, authorities said. The suspect was later shot and killed by police.
The shooting occurred at Toyota of Berkeley Certified Service Center last Thursday, according to a statement released by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín. The shooting was an act of domestic violence, the Alameda Co. Sheriff’s office said.
The center is in Albany, Calif., but authorities from Berkeley and Alameda Co. responded to the shooting along with Albany police. Berkeley police officers were the first to arrive at the scene after authorities received reports of an active shooter shortly after 11 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Berkeley police found the suspect on the second floor of the building and multiple officers discharged their weapons. The suspect was shot in the exchange; his death is being investigated as an officer-involved shooting by the sheriff’s department.
Berkeley police’s “rapid response may have prevented further casualties. We are grateful to our officers for putting their lives on the line to confront this armed suspect,” Arreguín wrote in the statement. “On behalf of the City of Berkeley I want to extend our heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family.”
The sheriff’s office said witnesses told them the suspect entered the building and shot the victim, whose name has not been released. The suspect’s name also was being withheld by authorities. It is unclear if he had any connection to the dealership beyond his relationship with the victim.
The victim identified sales leads in the store’s business development center, local TV station KTVU Fox 2 reported. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Albany police would be investigating her death.
Toyota of Berkeley did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Berkeley police could not say if there were any other injuries from the incident.