Woman identifies son as victim of Berkeley safe house shooting

BERKELEY, California. – Berkeley police continued their investigation into a fatal shooting at a homeless shelter on Monday.

There were reports of an arrest, but police have not confirmed it.

The victim’s mother sharply criticized the management of the Ursula Sherman Village home and said there were not enough security forces on site.

“Killed my child. My only child. After this, I won’t have another one. That’s it. I’m angry. And I don’t give a damn who sees this!” she screamed from the front seat of her car, but declined to give her name.

She identified her son as 37-year-old Marcel, but withheld his last name.

After the incident, animal shelter staff met with the victim’s family.

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The 80-bed home provides housing and services for individuals and families for up to six months. Some residents consider the facility safe.

“They’re checking bags. I don’t understand how this could happen. Everything should be checked before people can even come in,” said resident Kietra Jones.

On Sunday around 5:30 p.m., officers received a 911 call about a shooting at the homeless shelter on the corner of Harrison and Fourth Streets.

“Our officers arrived on scene and found a shooting victim. Our officers began life-saving measures. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene,” said Officer KaJahna Futch.

Investigators said the shooter fled and has not yet been identified.

Marcel’s mother spoke of her son as a good man with three children and blamed the home for his premature death.

“They let a man leave the building, go to his car and get a gun. They didn’t check him on the way in and they killed my son. They shot him multiple times,” she said.

Advocates said there have been problems at various city shelters since the COVID era.

“We have been receiving complaints about problems in the shelters for probably four or five years,” said attorney Ian Morales.

Morales is working with his nonprofit organization, Where Do We Go, on a program to monitor urban shelters.

“We’re not going to tell them anything in advance. We’re going to go to the shelters and check pretty much everything,” Morales said. “The shelters are not safe. People don’t feel safe from violence there… and something has to change.”

This incident is the fourth fatal shooting in Berkeley this year.

Authorities have not yet released a motive or any information about the suspect.

Jesse Gary is a reporter in the station’s South Bay bureau. Follow him on Instagram at @jessegontv and on Facebook at @JesseKTVU.