Woman identifies son as victim of Berkeley shelter shooting

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

There were reports of an arrest, but police have not verified them.

The victim's mother blasted management at the Ursula Sherman Village shelter, saying there was insufficient security on site.

“She killed my child. My only child. I don’t have any more after this. It’s over. I’m angry. And I don’t care who sees it!” she shouted from the front seat of her car, but declined to give her name.

She identified her son as Marcel, 37, but did not reveal his last name.

Shelter officials met with the victim's family after the incident.

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The shelter, with a capacity of 80 beds, provides housing and services to individuals and families for up to six months. Some residents consider the facility safe.

“They’re checking bags. I don’t understand how that happened. Everything is supposed to be checked before they even come in,” said resident Kietra Jones.

Officers received 911 calls around 5:30 p.m. Sunday about a shooting at the shelter, located at the corner of Harrison and Fourth streets.

“Our officers responded to the scene and located a shooting victim. Our officers began performing CPR. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene,” said Officer KaJahna Futch.

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

Marcel's mother spoke of her son as a good man with three children and blamed the shelter for his untimely death.

“They let a man come out of that building, go to his car, get a gun, they didn't check him at the entrance, they killed my son and shot him multiple times,” she said.

Displaced people's rights advocates said there had been problems at various shelters in the city since the COVID era.

“We've been getting complaints about problems in shelters for probably four or five years,” said attorney Ian Morales.

Morales works through his nonprofit, Where Do We Go, on a program to monitor the city's shelters.

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

The incident marks the fourth fatal shooting in Berkeley this year.

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

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