Police Shoot Man At Haas School

Protesters on the Berkeley campus today

The police at the University of California at Berkeley shot and wounded a gun-toting man at the Haas School of Business today (Nov. 15) after he reportedly refused to give up his gun.

The campus newspaper, the Daily Californian, quoted a university official as saying a school employee contacted a supervisor after seeing a person carrying what appeared to be a weapon in a bag. The newspaper quoted campus spokesman Dan Mogulof as saying witnesses heard the police say, “Put down the gun,” and then heard gunfire.

The shooting occurred as students and anti-Wall Street activists were converging on the campus for a day of protests and another attempt to establish an Occupy Cal camp after a failed effort last week led to dozens of arrests. It has not been determined of the shooting is related to the demonstrations, where nearly 1,000 people turned out to protest budget cuts.

A spokesman from the university’s police department told news media has said that the suspect and the victim of the shooting are “one and the same,” and the suspect has been transferred to a hospital.

The shooting apparently occurred on a third-floor computer lab at around 2:15 p.m. A staff member noticed the suspect carrying the gun and notified police. Witnesses say that campus police tried to ask the suspect to drop the gun, and when the suspect didn’t comply, four to five shots were fired.

Jay Stowsky, a senior assistant dean at Berekely, sent out an email addressing the situation just before 3:30 p.m.

“All classes are cancelled for the rest of the day and evening due to a shooting at the school. All students, faculty and staff are safe.  The suspect brandished a gun and was shot by a law enforcement officer and is in route to the hospital. We will send more details as we learn more.”