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Daily Planet Staff 

An armed robbery suspect was shot and killed Wednesday night after brandishing a weapon at Berkeley police officers. 

The shooting occurred at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Allston Way shortly before 8 p.m., and followed an armed robbery of a nearby business and a neighborhood chase. 

Police were unable to provide information Wednesday night on the identity of the man. The Alameda County Coroner’s Office also did not have any information, but it could be released later today. 

Here’s what was known as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller: 

The episode began around 7:30 p.m. at a jewelry store in the 1600 block of University Avenue, where the suspect robbed the shop at gunpoint. The owner was able to activate the silent alarm, which alerted police to the robbery in progress. 

A nearby officer quickly arrived on scene just as the man was leaving the story. The suspect was able to escape and ran south on Jefferson Avenue. Several other officers responded to the call and were able to establish a perimeter around the block where the man was believed to be hiding. Officers found articles of clothing dropped along the presumed route taken by the suspect. 

As the officers were conducting their search, a taxi cab van approached the intersection of Jefferson and Allston, and an officer thought that the vehicle’s passenger matched the description of the suspect. As officers attempted to stop the van, the passenger - apparently the armed robbery suspect - pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer. Several officers opened fire, and the suspect was hit. 

The man was transported to Highland Hospital, where he was pronounced a short time later. 

Miller said that at least three officers were at the scene of the shooting, but he didn’t know if all three fired shots at the suspect. He said it appears the man did not fire any shots from his gun. 

Miller was unable to provide the exact time of the shooting, but the Daily Planet’s monitoring of the communications over the scanner indicated that officers were being called to the Jefferson and Allston intersection around 8:10 p.m., and a call for a transport unit - presumably an ambulance - was made at 8:31 p.m. 

The taxi van driver may have no connection to the robbery suspect, but Miller did not have that information immediately available Wednesday night. The driver apparently was not hit in the shooting, nor were any bystanders. No officers were injured, either. 

As of Wednesday night, the officers involved in the shooting had not been placed on any kind of leave. Miller said the department’s policy includes a provision to help the “well-being of officers involved in this kind of incident,” but no action has yet been taken. 

The investigation into the shooting continued late Wednesday night.